In the End
by Hikari loves Kurama
Summary: Based on Linkin Park's 'In the End'. 3 fangirls discover YuYu is real, and get themselves sucked into it's world, and it's problems. And guess what? They're the biggest problem of them all! Read, I'm begging you!
1. Who's that gorgeous redhead?

The pale black sky held no evidence of the beautiful sunset that had taken place just half an hour beforehand. The light streaks of color, crimson, pink and a vibrant orange, that had colored the sky like pastel smears were now faded and gone. Stars littered the lightened black sky, few and far between. The beauty of the heavens seemed dull, however, when compared to the sharp lights of the city. It seemed to passerby that the two warred with one another, both trying to be noticed by the humans that strolled down the streets of down town Tokyo. The city was wide awake and buzzing, despite the late hour. Cars, trucks, cabs, and even bicycles made heavy traffic on main roads, the side walks swamped with hundreds of people, of all classes, ages, and nationalities. Tourists made their ways to their hotels after "Partying it up" (Please excuse the phrase). Natives to the city headed to wherever their hearts felt the need to go, talking loudly to one another about the busybody tourists. Still others, whom graced this city with their presence, made their way through the gawking sightseers and roughhousing natives to get to their small apartment to rest after a stressful day. But, there was yet another classification. Three teenage girls, laphing madly as though insane, dodged behind, around, and infront of the other innocent passerby, screaming. Judging from their horrific Japanese and their accent, they were American.   
  
  
  
"I'm bored." Shanta whined, her steps slowing to a drunkard's pace. You could tell by they way this girl spoke and dressed that she wasn't the calmest kid on the block. Her tone had a hint of defiance to it, as though she was challenging the world to a bar room brawl, sure to come on top. Her army pants had a tear in the left knee, her black, bare skin showing through. Her sweater was blue, and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail so as to keep out of the way, lest it hinder her in any sort of fight.   
  
  
  
"Bored?!" Jessica cried, waving her arms, oblivious to the curious stares of those watching them with interest, "We're in Tokyo, the place we've been dreaming to visit for, like, two years! Well, I sopose that ain't true, we've been dreaming longer than we've known one another." Her eyes rolled heavenward, her mouth up turning in a mocking smile, "Wanna go back to the hotel, is that it, Shanta?" She had short, brown hair that hung to her shoulders, a light streak of blonde on the side. Her hazel eyes were framed by glasses, which added to her already rather timid looks. Freckles dotted her cheeks, something she despised. Her T-shirt had a pokemon logo on it, proving that she was a miserable existence indeed. Her jeans were an old pair of flares, worn and faded. Her sneakers also had been worn by her for a long time. This look made her feel comfortable, and oddly safe. Why, she did not know.   
  
"Yes!" Shanta answered loudly, her tone weary with the walking they had done all day. Her light brown eyes dulled in color and she let her shoulders sag.  
  
  
  
"Why? So you can play with the ice machine again?" Autumn asked her companion lightly, a hint of mockery in her tone. Autumn had light brown skin. She had tight curls with various shades of brown strands of hair that framed her face, forever hanging in her eyes. She looked like curly sue, a docile, kind little girl. Totally innocent. [*Snort*]. She dressed like a boy, in Jessica's loud opinion. Baggy black pants and an equally over-sized red shirt. She smirked at Shanta's indigent look. Shanta's hands clutched into fists, which she shook at Autumn, who stuck her tongue out in response.   
  
  
  
"I did not play with the ice thing!"  
  
  
  
"Did too!" Autumn and Jessica said in unison. "Jinx!" Jessica said airily, her grin getting wider by the minute, much to the annoyance of her friends, who often told her smiling was for the "weak-minded nigen". But Jessica pointed out that neither of them were, in reality, demons, to which they replied: Shut it!   
  
Shanta crossed her arms, a miffed expression on her face. "Bakas!" She sniffled angrily, though she wasn't offended.   
  
  
  
"Henjin," Jessica said, not being offensive, but smiled and gave her friend's shoulder a squeeze,   
  
  
  
"Why don't we go rent a movie? Then we can go to the hotel."  
  
  
  
"Whats the point? It'll be in Japanese!" Autumn pointed out, "We could," She added with a peevish grin, her eyes resting on a rather dangerous looking bar, "Go clubbing." This, she knew, would get a reaction from "goodie-two-shoes".  
  
  
  
"If you make one move towards any bar, I'll call your mom, and she'll come right over on the next plane!"  
  
  
  
"Always so responsible. Makes me sick." Autumn added under her breath.   
  
  
  
"That's right, children!" Jessica said with superiority, putting a hand of each of her shorter tomodatchis' heads, giving them a pat. "No irresponsibility around me!" She laphed, giving them a shove in the back, sending them several feet ahead of her. "I'm in charge."  
  
  
  
"Who says?!" Shanta asked, cocking an eyebrow. Autumn followed suite.  
  
  
  
"I told you, no one with an IQ lower than twelve can be in charge. Therefor, it is I, Hikari Minnimano, devoted wife of Kurama, who shall take upon the humble title of babysitter."  
  
  
  
"Ooo, you better run, girl!" Autumn informed her. And so the three ran wildly down the busy sidewalk. Jessica was easily captured, despite the fact that she was both the oldest, and the tallest. She was a bit on the chubby side… [*Cough* understatement *Cough*] Her friends shoved her into a wall, laphing evilly as if they were torturing her. She shoved them away, screaming bloody murder. She caught sight of the native Tokyo inhabitants watching her with amused looks, and flushed, muttering: "Dang it! You to always get me in trouble."  
  
  
  
"Lighten up!" Autumn said as they continued on their way, wandering farther from the hotel. She gave Jessica a playful shove in the ribs. She winced. "Like you said, we're in Tokyo! The place where Kagome lives!"  
  
  
  
"I don't like Inuyasha," She mumbled, still blushing scarlet. "Kurama, however… But he doesn't live in Tokyo…" She heaved a sigh, the burden of being the "responsible one" once more plaguing her. Why was she the one to keep watch over her friends? What was she, their mother?! "Then again, Kurama is the responsible one," she thought aloud, to soft for the other two to hear, her face lighting up. "Let's take a bus to Kurama's hometown."  
  
  
  
"We don't know where that is." Shanta glumly pointed out.   
  
"Hey, raining on our parade is Jess's job, Shanta."  
  
  
  
"Shut up, Autumn."  
  
"What? I was just-" Autumn was cut off by Jessica, who clapped her hand over her mouth and pointed with the other hand to a little shop, which had a stack of books in the window. Autumn let out an exaggerated groan of despair. "Books?! Come on, gimme a break, child! We're on vacation!"  
  
  
  
"No, not the books!" Jessica snapped, "Look at the boy in the shop, the one at the counter! That looks like Bishouhen!" She said, using her pet name for Kurama. Indeed, the likeness between the boy and the anime character was striking. The long, ruby-red hair, strikingly green eyes, slender, boyishly handsome, dependable face, insubstantial-looking, but quite strong shoulders, and lean body were all as they would be. His attire was casual: a simple green T-shirt and a pair of jeans. Jessica let out a dreamy sigh.   
  
  
  
"But," Autumn said, jerking her back into reality, rather hard, "He's probably a wanna-be who dresses like him for attention." This got her looks of utmost loathing from Jessica and Shanta.   
  
"He's got mine." Shanta declared, "Come on, let's talk to him!" Shanta, the ever-ready outgoing one, the one that girls like Jessica usually avoided altogether.   
  
  
  
"Nooo! We only know like forty Japanese words, most are insults. Do you plan to call him 'baka henjin'?!" Jessica interrupted. She shook her head slowly from side to side, as though fed up with her friend's stupidity. "Nooo sir-ee!"  
  
  
  
"Aw, you ruin everything, Jess."  
  
  
  
"Just reminding you there is such thing as sanity." She snapped. But Jessica too, wished to talk to this boy. She breathed in sharply as he walked from the store, his arms loaded down with books. The lamplight caught his scarlet hair- Jessica felt faint. She clasped Autumn and Shanta's hands to keep from falling then and there. "God, is he good looking!" She mumbled weakly.  
  
  
  
"Heh." Autumn snorted, slapping the back of Jessica's head with the edge of her hand. "Earth to baka, earth to baka! Come in, child of patheticsy."  
  
"That… Isn't… A word…" Jessica could not take her hazel eyes from the figure. She watched his movements with a dreamy look as he lightly strode down the sidewalk, a spotlight seemed to follow him also. "Look it up…"  
  
"Thanks, but I have better things to do than use a dictionary!" Shanta laphed, then gave her a quizzical look, "Uh, Jess?"  
  
  
  
"Shut up, or I will be forced to silence you with my foot." Jessica answered absently, not present in mind, her mouth fairly hanging open.  
  
  
  
"Jeez, snap out of it, girl!"  
  
  
  
"I think we should follow him." She said suddenly, straining to see the redhead in the crowd, moaning as his form faded into the night. She hesitated a moment before bolting, her friends at her heels. She took no notice to the indignant glares of those she shoved, occasionally looking over her shoulder to check on Shanta and Autumn, who were going a bit slower, not as willing to run after the boy. A rush of adrenaline flooded Jessica's system, giving her a fresh burst of speed.  
  
  
  
"Who'd a thought Jess would chase after a boy like this?" Autumn huffed to Shanta as they ducked behind an elderly woman, who shouted angry curses as they passed.  
  
  
  
"He looks like Kurama! How'd you think she'd react?" Shanta shot back, starting to loose sight of the love-crazed teen. "Hurry up!"  
  
  
  
"Hey, I was just pacing myself for your sake, you want to go faster, I can speed up real easy."  
  
  
  
"Then do it!"   
  
* * *  
  
Kurama tilted his head to the side at a slight fraction, his eyes glinting as he viewed the scenery behind him. So, he was being followed. "Whatever could she want?" He wondered out loud, a curious sound to his voice. His eyes trailed her as she sped up, despite the crowd's density, her sneakers thudding on the pavement as she ran. "I don't sense a demonic aura around her, she must be another fangirl. This does wear down my nerves." He heaved a miserable sigh, shaking his head sadly.   
  
  
  
"You'd think we'd be used to it by now." Yuskue said unhappily, shoving his hands deep in the pockets of his green uniform pants. "Gee, she is persistent. Good thing Hiei isn't here, you remember what happened to the last unlucky girl who swooned over him?"  
  
  
  
A wince passed Kurama's face, his shoulders giving a slight twitch. "If I hadn't been there…"  
  
  
  
"Tch. Seems to me that this kid has a thing fer you, man." Yuskue assumed his laid back position as he walked, his arms folded behind his head. His carefree air caused Kurama to smile, glad of the lighthearted teenager's company. "Just think, you don't have a woman, maybe you ought to get one."  
  
  
  
"Bleh! Are you insane?! I'm not in any hurry for a road of emotional pain and stress. I'm not very easy to be around, you know that. What makes you think I'd need female companionship?"  
  
  
  
"You seem lonely to me. I dunno, maybe you should really consider it, for real."  
  
"What on earth do you mean by lonely, I don't lack anything in my life, I have no need for a… a …. Girlfriend."  
  
  
  
"Well, I'm not buying it." Yuskue grinned at Kurama's nervous face, laphing at his friend's sudden fidgeting. "I'm kidding, dude! Don't sweat, I'm not out to get you a mate, okay? Anyway, that's not our problem at the moment, its that girl that's following us. How are we gonna loose her?"  
  
  
  
Kurama sighed again, then cast a glance over his shoulder. "I don't know…"  
  
  
  
"I wonder if she'd follow us into an alley, she looks real skittish ta me." Yuskue said thoughtfully, biting his lip in concentration. "That ought to do the trick."  
  
  
  
"Yes, it seems so. But…" Kurama faded off, his tone troubled. "Yuskue, what if she isn't really human? She could be a demon, masking her sent. It is probable, given our current situation. "  
  
"And hide it from you, fox boy? Naw, she's a normal human. Though, come to think of it, I haven't been paying much attention, some demon may be following us, but it ain't her."  
  
"It is crucial that we keep our eyes open, Yuskue! And for more than just demons, but for the crystal." Kurama said with emphasis.   
  
  
  
"Yeah yeah," Yuskue yawned, letting his arms fall to his sides. "I know."  
  
  
  
"Good. Now can you use what you know wisely?"   
  
  
  
Yuskue tilted his head to the side, a silly grin on his face. "I doubt it!" He chimed brightly.   
  
* * *   
  
  
  
"Come on, slow down…" Jessica begged, her eyes never leaving his muscular shoulders, her breathing in short gasps as she struggled to keep up with him. Her sneakers thudded on the pavement, echoing in the dark, cold night air. Jessica noted the change in surroundings, she now was running full tilt in a rather spooky end of town. The buildings looked vacant, old and condemned. Tufts of grass which grew from cracks in the sidewalk hindered her, catching on her shoes and tripping her up. She slowed her steps, catching her breath. Yet she could not bring herself to approach him.  
  
She cast a frightened glance around her, praying that her companions would appear, but no one came. She was alone in the bad end of town at eleven at night in Tokyo, Japan, a foreign country, whose dialect she could barely speak. Suddenly very aware of her vulnerability, she wrapped her arms around herself, her face pale in the light of the street lamps. The vague sound of a dog's bark sent shivers up her spine, and she closed her eyes to collect herself. "Don't be scared… You aren't a baby…" She told herself aloud. "What am I saying?! I'm a baby and I know it!"  
  
Her eyes sought the redhead again, who now seemed to be walking with another teenager. She had already seen dozens of kids wearing a green uniform; the nearby school had that as its dress code. But the youth the walked beside the soposed Kurama wore his a bit differently, like he wore for the simple reason of being rebellious.   
  
  
  
"C-Could it be? I must be asleep, dreaming… Or insane. Figures, I knew I'd crack eventually…" Jessica's mouth played up in a rueful smile, her hazel eyes closing as she walked. "It's so real though… They must have just given me my meds."  
  
  
  
"Its getting cold," Jessica said, still thinking out loud, the sound of her own voice comforting. "I hope those two went back to the hotel. It'd really suck if all three of us were lost." She shuddered and sought for a distraction. The redhead kept his steady pace, just a hundred yards of so ahead of her, oblivious as to her, as did his companion.. This gave her little comfort, so her eyes traveled to the sidewalk, scanning it for anything to divert her attention.   
  
  
  
"What the heck…?" Her steps halted and she stooped to the ground. It was an orb, glowing softly with a whitish-blue color, about the size of her palm. It was so beautiful, so bright! How did she not notice it before? Her fingertips stretched out, just above the gentle radiance, and she hesitated. Pain struck her as if she had been hit by a car, she gasped for breath, the air in her lungs had frozen. Her eyes widened in surprise, her hand jerking from the marble. Her neck broke out in cold sweat, chills up and down her spine. But, despite the obvious danger of the object, something stirred deep within her chest. She had to touch it! Again she reached for it, this time without hesitation.   
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"Where the heck is she?" Autumn asked, her steps slowing to a jog. Shanta came up beside her, her face dark with worry. They looked about themselves. Tall buildings towered above them, their bright lights stinging the girls' eyes. Cars zoomed by, despite the late hour. The city was alive and buzzing, non to comforting to them.  
  
  
  
"JESSICA!" They called in unison, unable to keep the worry from their tones.   
  
  
  
"What are we going to do?" Shanta muttered hopelessly, frowning.  
  
  
  
"Rent a movie and go back to the hotel?" Autumn suggested, her tone light with an innocent air.  
  
  
  
"Not funny!" She snarled, glaring angrily at the shorter one, who shrugged in response, not overly remorseful as to her comment. "Come on, Autumn, we have to find her!"  
  
  
  
"I know! But what can we do? We lost sight of her almost ten minutes ago in this huge city, how can we find her?" She said defensively, her brow creasing in a frown, "We can't call the cops either, our moms would flip."   
  
The two sighed, looking up a large billboard advertising some sort of Japanese wine. Fighting down her gaining fear, Shanta kicked at a dented old can listlessly with her foot. Without a word, she turned to head back to the hotel. Autumn gaped at her, then shrugged and turned to follow.  
  
"Hopefully she's already there." Autumn muttered, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket.   
  
  
  
"If she is, I'm gonna kill her."  
  
* * *   
  
Jessica felt a wave of warmth as she held the orb in her palm, like nothing she had ever felt, it was so soothing. All her problems left her mind, everything. "It feels nice…" She murmured, her eyes half closed in a dreamy state, her mouth partially open. Her skin tingled in a pleasant way, almost like tickling but not so harsh. Enchanted, she stood, stowing the orb carefully in her pocket, patting the fabric of her jeans so as to be sure it was there. The redhead forgotten, she went back to the hotel. 


	2. DDR Max

By the time she got back to the hotel, the other two were asleep in their beds, Autumn snoring peacefully. The room had three beds, side by side, a television, and a desk set up beneath the window. Upon this desk sat a laptop, open, its screen shining eerily in the darkened room. "Darnit, I forgot I left it online," She muttered as she made her way across the room, averting her course so as to avoid piles of dirty clothes and God-knows-what-else. A small icon flashed in the corner of her screen: YOU GOT MAIL. She sat herself at the desk chair, typing slowly so as not to arouse the others.  
  
  
  
-Dear Jessica,  
  
How are you honey? I hope you're enjoying your trip to Japan. I wish you'd email me a bit more often, so I know you're okay. Have fun baby! Mom.-  
  
  
  
"Oh boy," She said, smiling at the sweet but short letter. She hastily typed her reply, then shut her computer down with a sigh.  
  
  
  
-Mom, I can write much, I've been so busy. Its great here, it hasn't even rained. I have tons of stuff to bring home to you and Justin, tell him to hush his mouth and wait for me to get home. [NO! I am not mailing him his present, he can wait a week till I get there!] Miss you lots!!!! Jess.-   
  
Jessica was unaware of the eyes that followed her movements around the room. Had she not been so preoccupied, she'd have realized how fake those snores were. Autumn readjusted her blankets so as to hide her eyes, her ears pricked to listen to Jessica as she lay her head down on the desk top, fatigue plaguing her every blink. Finally, both girls drifted off to a contented sleep, if logs are content.   
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"Ayume! Are you trying to tell me that this kid found the stone before us?! Do you realize the seriousness of this situation!? The fate of earth has fallen into the hands of a fourteen year old girl! Chaos will reign! We're doomed if she gets into this world!" Koenma slammed his tiny fist upon the desk, his angry scream echoing in the office, causing the new Grim Reaper to cringe.  
  
  
  
"Y-Yes Koenma, sir. But we can still get it back from her, right?" She clutched a clipboard to her chest, her eyes shining, her voice quivering with fear. "Right?"  
  
  
  
"Only if she lets us. We can not take Aoitsuki's stone from her without her consent. We're doomed! Yuskue and the others wouldn't have a prayer against a fifteen-hundred year old psychic! No human would willingly give up so much power." Koenma moaned and covered his face with his hands, then continued to moan pitifully.  
  
  
  
"Heh," A cold voice sneered from the shadows behind his throne, a soft cackle accompanying the mocking words, "Why don't you just kill her before she realizes what she has?"  
  
  
  
"We can't do that, its illegal to kill an innocent human." Koenma let his face fall to the desk, slamming it hard so as to wake his dulled nerves which had numbed an account of the scare.  
  
Hiei's short form emerged from the shadows, his arms folded. "Is it better to let her massacre every human on that accursed planet?"  
  
  
  
"You're just bloodthirsty!" Ayume snapped, waving her clipboard threateningly at Hiei, "You're sick, wanting to get an excuse to kill your first human, how disgusting!"   
  
"Shut up, you witch." Hiei snarled, inclining his head to hide his face from view, his words soft and threatening. "You don't know me. You don't know if that's my reason."  
  
  
  
"Then what other reason do you have?!"  
  
  
  
"Tch. Like I'd tell you." Hiei informed her, "If you don't want my help, then can I leave?"  
  
"And go where, you have no home!" Ayume growled.   
  
  
  
"No, you may not leave. I need you to keep an eye on that girl. Three, if you can manage it." Koenma sighed, his face still on the desk. "Go on then."  
  
  
  
"Whatever." Hiei murmured, casting a murderous look at Ayume, who winced. "Have a nice day," He said mockingly, his voice oddly high-pitched. "Don't work to hard…"  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Sunlight streamed in the window from between the blinds, casting a soft radiance on the girls, who all lay sleeping. It was past noon, yet none of these three planned to wake anytime soon. Autumn turned in her sleep, muttering softly to herself, her arm falling off the edge of the bed. Shanta's face twitched, a smile on her lips. Jessica had some time late in the night fallen into her own bed, her blankets beneath her body.   
  
  
  
"… Hmnfty…." Shanta mumbled, "No way…. Not…. Real…." She began to shiver, pulling the blankets up to her chin, her face breaking out in cold sweat. "Ah!"  
  
"Hm?" Autumn's light brown eyes flickered open, "Wha-?" She sat up abruptly, looking about her wildly, as though sure some one was there.  
  
  
  
"No, it can't end this way! No, please don't kill her, they're must be another way…!"   
  
  
  
Autumn rolled out of bed, her bare feet landing on the carpet without sound. She slumped over to Shanta's bed, blinking the sleep from her eyes. "Shanta… Yo, get up, it's just a dream."  
  
"Can't do it…… Yuskue, you can't! T-Tell him, Autumn…"  
  
  
  
"Tell him what?" Autumn put a hand on her friend's shoulder, giving her a hard shake. "Wake up!"  
  
  
  
"Can't we reverse it…? We can't kill her, we can't! It's not right… Jessica!" Shanta's eyes flew open, and she let out a startled scream, her hand flying up to her face, covering her mouth in terror. Wisps of her short black hair framed her sweat-soaked face. She shook as tears began to fall down her cheeks, her eyes wide. Autumn sat down on the bed, wrapping her arms around Shanta's shoulders, muttering:  
  
  
  
"It was a dream, Shanta, calm down… What was it about? It sure freaked you out."  
  
  
  
Shanta shook her head as Autumn released her, unable to speak. She swallowed with difficulty before choking out, "It was so real, like a vision."   
  
  
  
"Maybe it was," Autumn said sarcastically, her eyes rolling. "Obviously you aren't awake enough to be sane, so I'll come back later."  
  
  
  
"I'm serious!" Shanta cried out indignantly, "It was a vision."   
  
  
  
"You're a head case, you know that?" Autumn laphed, shoving her shoulder playfully, "Chill! Come on, Jess ain't awake, lets pour water on her head."  
  
  
  
Shanta frowned, as though trying to remember something. "Oh," She said slowly, "She came back?"  
  
  
  
"Yeah. To bad, we could have gone clubbing." Autumn heaved a fake sigh, shaking her head in an exaggerated way. "Oh well…"  
  
  
  
Shanta grinned, her dream, or whatever it was, forgotten. "Now, what was that about water?"   
  
  
  
Autumn smirked evilly, a demonic chuckle arouse from her lips.  
  
* * *  
  
Despite beginning the day a bit badly, Jessica was in a good mood. After screaming and chasing her friends up and down the hotel's balcony (after swearing to decapitate them) for and hour or so, the group headed out into the town again, this time searching for an arcade. The late afternoon was thick with clouds, the sun's rays fighting to shine upon them, though this did not hinder them in the least. Tokyo opened up before their eyes, a world of fun, opportunities, and trouble. After a little persuasion, Jessica coaxed them into going into a bookstore before heading out to the arcade. Disgusted, Autumn kept silent, her hands in her pockets, refusing to even look at the books. Shanta nosed around in the weapons section, leafing through a book on swords, and Jessica made her way to the fiction. Beaming as though a kid in a candy shop, she set about finding something she could read while her friends played games.  
  
  
  
Autumn sauntered to a cluster of armchairs in the front of the store, falling into one of them with a growl. She leaned back, her head on the headrest, closing her eyes in a huff. She stayed in that position for some time, her mind wandering into the deepest depths of her mind. [Not very deep, let me tell you!]   
  
  
  
"Can I help you with anything?" A kind voice asked from above her in Japanese.  
  
  
  
Jerked from her thoughts, Autumn sat up and blinked. "N-No." She hissed in Japanese, irritated at being interrupted, "I hate reading."  
  
  
  
"Ah, I know the feeling." It was a boy, around the age of sixteen. His thick, black hair fell to his shoulders, his bright blue eyes glistened with amusement. "I can't stand to read."  
  
  
  
"Then why do you work here, uh…" Autumn squinted at his name tag, then realized that it was in Japanese. "Mr.Whatever."  
  
  
  
"Miko, call me Miko." He said, smiling. He slumped into a chair across from her, his eyes never leaving hers. "And yours is?"  
  
  
  
"In Japanese it would be Aki, but in English its Autumn."  
  
  
  
"Aw..tum.." He said, struggling with the foreign word. "Autumn."  
  
  
  
"Now you have it," She answered dully, letting her head fall back again.   
  
  
  
"It's a pretty name." Miko continued, obviously not done talking to her.  
  
  
  
"Uh-huh."   
  
  
  
"Are all you Americans so lively?" He asked, cocking his head to the side, laphing.  
  
  
  
"Yes."  
  
  
  
"Where in America do you live?"  
  
  
  
"Florida."  
  
  
  
"Is… Is it nice there?"  
  
  
  
"I guess."  
  
  
  
"Alligators live there, right?"  
  
  
  
"Yup."  
  
  
  
"Where did you learn Japanese?"  
  
  
  
"Around."  
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
  
  
"To have fun."  
  
"…Has it been fun so far?"  
  
  
  
"Mm."  
  
"Have a great time," Miko said, fed up with her lack of enthusiasm in the conversation. He stood and walked away, muttering, "Good luck."  
  
"Bye."  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Jessica propped her book on the catsup bottle as she read it, twisting in a slow circle on her spinning stool. She sat at the snack bar at some nameless arcade, her pals off in the dark game room. She lifted her soda to her mouth, drinking deeply, reading over the paper cup's rim. She struggled with the Japanese symbols, her brow creased in a frown. "He gasped… at the… horrid sight…" She cocked an eyebrow at the horror story, finally sighing and laying the book on the counter. She put a hand to her eyes, "That gave me a headache, and I only read thirty pages!" She took to watching the other people in the room closely, studying their faces. She listened to the cluster of teenagers that sat down the bar, laphing loudly.  
  
  
  
"Stupid American! Thinks she can beat a record on DDR…"  
  
"Yeah right! She made so many mistakes on the last one, it was pathetic."  
  
  
  
"Her friend over there doesn't seem to be into video games, wonder what she's reading?"  
  
"Was reading. Looks like she gave up."  
  
"I wonder if she'll try DDR?"  
  
  
  
Jessica hid a smile, sliding off her stool, she walked over to the kids. "Perhaps you'd like to play a round of DDR with me?" She asked sweetly, making sure her Japanese was perfectly spoken.   
  
  
  
"I will," A girl piped up, the one that had commented second. Her short black hair was pulled into two, short, thick ponytails. She held out her hand, "I'm Manituju."  
  
  
  
Jessica shook her hand, smiling warmly, "I'm Jessica."  
  
  
  
Manituju led the way to the dark game room, her friends following her, grinning. Jessica dug in her pockets for change as she walked. The DDR game played the Japanese song "No Snow" loudly, seemingly rocking the entire room. It consisted of a large screen with a deck in the front, with two separate player spaces, each surrounded with four, multicolored pads, one in front, in back, and on the left and right.   
  
  
  
"My favorite!" Jessica screamed over the music, Manituju nodded in response..  
  
  
  
The game's objective was simple enough: follow the dance directions on the screen, stepping on the proper pad to gain points and dance. If you missed to many directions, you lost. It you cleared, you got to continue. Jessica's grin became a bit more than friendly, it became demonic, to be frank.   
  
  
  
Manituju shoved the coins into the slot, taking her place, Jessica following suite. As the song began to play, heads turned to see who played the DDR max game. They had selected the song "Look at us now". The song blasted off the walls, the lyrics indistinguishable from the music. Jessica paced herself, her hazel eyes intense on the screen, her feet pressing the pads as though their own person. She started belting out the words, singing to the music, letting herself fall into the beat. She risked a glance at Manituju, who seemed as collected as she. CLEARED… Flashed on the screen, the song fading away. Without consulting Jessica, she pressed the icon labeled "Candy" and winked at Jessica.   
  
  
  
"My favorite." She informed her, giving her friends a significant look. They snickered in response.  
  
  
  
The music started up once more, this time a faster song. Jessica yawned, putting a hand to her mouth as though bored. She leapt head first into the song, turning the tables on the girl. She hit every panel correctly, as did Manituju. CLEARED…  
  
  
  
For several rounds this continued, each girl bent on winning so as to laph in the other's face. A crowd had gathered around them, clapping along with the beat, singing the lyrics. The final level came up, and Manituju gestured to the screen. Jessica beamed and thanked her.  
  
  
  
"No Snow" began, Jessica screaming along with it, her feet pounding the pads, her score perfect. Manituju was just as faultless, and she seemed as enthused as Jessica at her choice of song. Adrenaline flooded her system, giving Jessica renewed speed and excitement. Autumn and Shanta wandered into the crowd, shocked to see their timid friend doing so well.   
  
CLEARED! The scores flashed acrossed the screen.   
  
  
  
Player One: 1274848530  
  
  
  
Player Two: 1274848530  
  
"Well, it seems we've tied," Manituju sighed, shaking Jessica's hand. "Care for a rematch?"  
  
  
  
"Thanks," Jessica said sincerely, her hazel eyes glistening, "But no. I think it would be better to admit a tie than a loss."  
  
Manituju shrugged, "Who knows? You may win."  
  
  
  
"I was talking about you." Jessica grinned broadly, busting out with laphter at the young Japanese girl's face. "I'm way to tired to go again. Thanks for the fun. And the challenge."  
  
  
  
"You are welcome." She said solemnly, then smiled, "See you around?"  
  
* * *  
  
"Hiei, report!" Koenma yelled at the top of his lungs at the sullen apparition, who stood infront of his desk, hands in his pockets looking more sullen than usual.   
  
  
  
"She has the accursed thing in her pocket. Her and her bratty little friends are currently watching a movie at the hotel." He snarled, adding a foul insult under his breath.  
  
  
  
"You must not be seen, got me?" Koenma snapped, his hands folded in a princely manner infront of him. "You must not be seen."  
  
  
  
"Sir!"   
  
  
  
"Hm?" Koenma looked up from Hiei's pale face to the door. Hiei took this opportunity to make a rather rude face at his boss, who's attention was now on Oger, who stood in the doorway, his arms loaded down with a stack of paper. "Oh, its you, Oger. What is it?"  
  
  
  
"Sir, Kuwabara has been attacked!" Oger cried breathlessly, his shoulders shaking as he panted.  
  
  
  
"WHAT?!" Koenma leapt up in his chair, not that it made much difference in stature, and bellowed, "GET YUSKUE OVER THERE NOW! WHERE IS KURAMA?! AND BOTAN?! BRING THEM TO ME AT ONCE!"  
  
  
  
"Yes sir, right away!"  
  
"And as for you-?" Koenma blinked, "Darn you, Hiei!"  
  
Hiei chuckled to himself as he sped down the hall, Koenma's angry shouts following him, though he took no notice of them.  
  
  
  
* * * 


	3. A zillion and one is a good number

Jessica's hazel eyes gazed intensely at the screen of the television, sprawled acrossed her unmade bed, Autumn and Shanta sitting beside her, though not quite as enthused as she.  
  
  
  
[As seen on television]"This has always been my favorite part of the trail, watching the way you squirm as your muscles begin to pop and tear under the ceiling's weight . . . But of course, the best is your eyes; seeing the gears of thought turn in desperation . . . . thinking . . .questioning yourself? How long can I hold this? Will I die this way? Will one friend betray us and escape while we flatten . . . ? Or shall I be the one?" The odd, one-eyed, flying demon taunted.  
  
"Just ignore that punk, stick together. And if anyone tries to run; I swear I'll bring 'um back my self." Kuwabara growled, his arms quivering, sweat making his palms slip. He shot a nasty glance at Hiei.  
  
  
  
"Hah! And I sopose you think'd be noble if we died as a team?" Hiei spat, shaking his head at the pathetic nigen. His whole body strained to keep upright.   
  
  
  
"That's right!"  
  
  
  
"Here's a thought, lets shut up and find a way out." Yuskue cried, turning around. His gaze came to rest on a rather conveniently placed switch. "If we could just find a way to that switch . . . Hiei! Yer a lot faster than any of us. We'll hold the ceiling up while you go and flip the switch!"  
  
  
  
"You crazy? We can't trust that guy, just look, he doesn't care at all about us." Kuwabara said, shooting yet another glare at Hiei.   
  
  
  
"Yer ugly friend has a point, detective," Hiei chuckled.   
  
  
  
"Who's ugly? C'mere you mouse!"  
  
  
  
"Are you sure you wanna trust me? I've already vowed my revenge on you, maybe I'll handle that now." Hiei continued, ignoring Kuwabara's angry muttering.   
  
  
  
"Yeah, but I don't think quick deaths are your style." A red, glowing aura surrounded Yuskue's entire body as he spoke, "I'll let all of the spirit power I have left to buy us a little time while you run to the switch, just don't trip. . . . I trust you." Yuskue grinned, his face aglow with childish trust, " Now go!"  
  
  
  
Hiei blinked, his long lashes glinting in the light. Then, all at once, he dropped his arms from the stone and bolted. A smile spread across Kurama's lips, approving Hiei's choice. As soon as Hiei dropped, the strain on the other's arms increase, causing them to shift and groan in pain as their muscles tore. Hiei ran with speed like the gods, unmatched by any other being. Upon reaching the switch, he reached his hand out cautiously. A grin had stretched itself on his face, but now it faded to a look of perplexity. It hung there, in midair, for several seconds. His fingers splayed, then contracted once more. His hesitation frightened Kuwabara and Yuskue. Kurama wasn't in the least surprised.  
  
  
  
"Whats the deal?! Pull the stupid switch already!" Kuwabara cried, enraged.   
  
  
  
The flying demon descended, levitating just beside Hiei's shoulder, and spoke with cunning softness into Hiei's ear, "Theres no need to make snap judgments, my friend. What have they ever done for you?" Hiei gazed at his comrades as they stared back at him, fear in their eyes. Would he allow them to be crushed? "Leave them, and you can come with me into the castle." Kurama had gotten down on his knees in effort to keep the wall from killing them; he was so tall. Hiei gritted his teeth, unsure as to his own feelings. Yuskue focused entirely upon the weight, so as not to think about Hiei's possible betrayal. Kuwabara tilted his head to the side, no longer able to stand erect. They all pleaded silently with Hiei: HELP! "With the invasion of earth, the four saint beasts will control the future, be smart; join us. Perhaps you can be the general of our demon army."  
  
  
  
"D-Don't you dare . . . you creep! If it hadn't been for our help, you'd still be screaming with the rest of us!" Kuwabara, of course, groaned that. He panted with the effort of holding up the ceiling.   
  
  
  
That did it. Hiei's hand fell away from the switch, resting at his side. An evil chuckle aroused from his lips.   
  
  
  
"What are you laphing about?" Kuwabara screamed faintly.  
  
  
  
"Take a guess, you fool." Hiei inclined his head, his face shadowed.   
  
  
  
"DARN YOU!"  
  
  
  
"Yes," Crooned one-eye, "You take amusement from their pain, now imagine the satisfaction that'll come from their final scream. Whuhahawuhaha!"  
  
  
  
"Hiei!" Kuwabara begged as the ceiling lowered, the three unable to hold it up any longer. His eyes shone bright with fear, as did Kurama's. But Yuskue did not fear death, no, he felt a wave of disappointment. He had trusted Hiei with their lives . . .   
  
  
  
"A wise choice; the boulder would have crushed you anyway." The demon confided. Hiei's eyes narrowed, anger suddenly sparking within him. He let out a growl and leapt, his eyes flaming, at the demon.  
  
  
  
"Thanks for the clue!" He roared, poised midair, hand at his side, reaching for his sword hilt. With a merciless slash, he nearly cut the demon in half. It let out a hissing sound of agony. As soon as Hiei's feet landed with a soft TAK on the ground, he yanked the switch upward, freeing the them from their predicament.  
  
  
  
"He came through!" Yuskue said happily, letting his arms fall to his sides. But- no! An enormous boulder crashed down on their little savior, apparently crushing him, "HIEI!"  
  
  
  
"Uhnya?" Kuwabara gargled. Kurama stared in horror as dust billowed from around the rock. Yuskue and Kuwabara's expressions came to match his. They rushed out, fairly tripping over each other in their haste. But atop the rock stood Hiei, his sharp voice shouting at the dying one-eye thing, "Tell your masters: this is their chance to beg for mercy!" It flew off, a bit off track.  
  
  
  
Yuskue let out a sigh, bending over. Kuwabara leaned over beside him, friendly concern on his face. "Hey, are you alright?"  
  
  
  
"Yeah," Yuskue said weakly, "I just can't feel my arms right now."  
  
  
  
Hiei stepped lightly into their presence.   
  
  
  
"I knew you'd save us; you punk." Yuskue winked and held up his hand, poised in a thumbs up. Hiei's answer as his shoulders lifting ever so slightly, a pout on his face. He blinked again, slow and cool. Yuskue walked over and put his hand on Hiei's slim shoulder, "But you did have me worried," He shook his shoulder playfully, Hiei giving him a murderous look, "Such a good actor." Yuskue released him, "You know, not every body can pretend to laph at their friends while they're dying."  
  
  
  
"Humpf. Friends are just a crutch for the weak," Hiei growled, sauntering away from Yuskue's grinning face, "And I wasn't acting."  
  
  
  
"Say what?!" Kuwabara's hands clutched into fists.  
  
Hiei spun on his heel and pointed threateningly at him, "Don't confuse it. The only reason I saved you is because I MIGHT need your help." He strode away.  
  
  
  
"Heh." Kurama smiled, "Its his way of saying 'you're welcome'. You will learn."  
  
  
  
"Rrriiigghhttt." Yuskue laphed.  
  
  
  
"Well, he still ticks me off." Kuwabara said huffily.  
  
  
  
"Enough of this," Autumn said dully, her eyes half closed. She picked up the remote, switching the television off. Jessica snarled her protest, if looks could kill, Autumn would have dropped dead. "Come on, Jess! We've seen this one a zillion times."  
  
  
  
"Its. My. Favorite. You. Jerk." She hissed through gritted teeth, her eyes flashing dangerously. "A. Zillion. And. One. Is. A. Good. Number."  
  
  
  
Shanta snickered, "You know that Kurama fights next. Let her watch the rest before she really gets mad." Her tone was more than enough to get her started. Jessica growled at the sarcasm.   
  
  
  
"YOU THINK I CAN'T GET ANGRY?!" She bellowed, her hands clenching into fists.  
  
  
  
Autumn shrugged her shoulders without much emphasis, "No, we just don't think you'll do anything about it, that's all."  
  
  
  
"I CAN TOO!" She screeched, leaning over as she reached for her pillow, "I'M GONNA HIT YOU WITH THIS PILLOW!"  
  
  
  
Autumn sniggered. "Are you? I thought you were going to put me to bed."  
  
  
  
"SHUT UP!"  
  
  
  
"Chill out." Shanta muttered, rolling off the bed to saunter off to her own, rolling her eyes as Jessica dove at Autumn, who had stuck her tongue out at her. Autumn easily evaded the older girl, causing Jessica to fall off the bed onto her face. Autumn bust out laphing, clutching her sides in effort to keep from splitting in half. Jessica moaned and turned onto her back, hastily wiping her eyes so as not to let them know she started crying from the pain searing in her face. She returned to her bed, shoving Autumn off it.  
  
"Good night," Shanta mumbled as she pulled the covers up to her chin.   
  
  
  
"Nightie Night!" Autumn chirped, switching off the light and hopping into her own bed.  
  
Jessica sighed and lay down, keeping silent. She wrapped her arms around herself, closing her eyes and willed herself to sleep. It didn't work.  
  
  
  
Shanta's eyes also refused to close long enough to let her sleep. The day had been rush, rush, rush, and she hadn't even a second to think of her dream. But now, in the dark, silent room, the memories flooded her mind, the horror of the nightmare once more filling her with dread. She prayed it was only a dream, as Autumn said. But what if it wasn't?  
  
  
  
Autumn snored softly, her mind not among theirs as far as contemplation was concerned. Not a thing hindered her sleep, unless you counted the fact that she woke up some time during the night, drenched in sweat. But despite everything, she could not remember what she had dreamt. She needn't have bothered putting such an effort into trying to recover the dream; it was not in the least a vision. Not unless she planned to go to school with just her underwear on anytime soon.   
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Hiei watched with his cold, red eyes, a slightly malicious glint to them. Each of the nigen girls lay sleeping peacefully, the shortest one snoring. He leaned his gaunt frame on the wall, his hands deep within the pockets of his black robe. How he longed to kill the one who held Aoitsuki's stone… Then he could go about his own business, rather than have to be stuck here, babysitting. He let his head fall back onto the wall, a sigh escaping from his lips. Hiei lifted his head from the where it rested on the wall, slowly bending forward, then bashing it back onto the wall in irritation. He repeated this several times until he whammed particularly hard and swore. He leaned back, his eyes closing in a forced calm as he attempted to even-temper himself. He exhaled again, allowing his anger to drain away.   
  
"… Aoitsuki…"  
  
Hiei bristled at the sound of Shanta's voice, her head snapping in her direction. She lay sleeping, muttering in her sleep again. He calmed down considerably, but now kept a closer eye on this girl. "How is it she knows that name?" Hiei's eyes narrowed, his scowl deepening. "This isn't right…"  
  
* * *  
  
Koenma covered his eyes with his hands, muffled sobs coming from behind his fingers, "What are we going to do? My father won't allow us to kill her, but what happens when the girl wizens up and takes control of the power she's got in her pocket?!"  
  
  
  
"May I suggest something sir?" Kurama said soothingly, the drum of his voice calming the midget prince. "Bring them here, to spirit world."  
  
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Koenma screamed, flecks of spit dotting Kurama's face.  
  
  
  
"No." Kurama answered calmly, very calm, owing to the fact he was covered with spit. "But we may be able to persuade her to give us the orb."  
  
  
  
Koenma sighed, shaking his head. "If it comes to that…"  
  
* * *   
  
  
  
Yuskue peered into the open door, shivers going up and down his spine. Something was seriously wrong here, a demonic aura surrounded Kuwabara's house. He walked cautiously down the hall, his arms poised at his side as though he were on a tightrope. He held his breath as he reached the stairs, taking it one step at a time. The rancid smell of blood met his nostrils and he coughed. He made his way to the bedroom that was so familiar to him, one he had spent countless hours in, throttling Kuzuma at any video game he could dish up. As he opened his door, he steeled himself for a horror he did not want to see, but he was sure he would despite his wishes.  
  
  
  
  
  
"U-Urameshi?" Kuwabara's throaty voice mumbled, thicker than usual. He lay on the floor in the center of his room, a pool of blood at his side. His loyal cat sat on its master's stomach, mewing softly.  
  
"Kuwabara!" Yuskue was at his side in an instant, "Man, what did they do to you?"  
  
"Dude, you got to get that stone…" Kuwabara's body shook as he coughed, blood bubbling in the corner of his mouth. His eyes closed as he attempted to get his words acrossed to Yuskue.  
  
  
  
"Stone? What stone?"  
  
  
  
"That psychic's stone… The one that contains her soul… They want to revive their master, at all costs."  
  
"Who? Who did this to you, and I'll kill them!" Yuskue thundered. Kuwabara lifted a weak hand, setting it atop his. Yuskue blinked, sincerely touched.  
  
"Just some old followers of hers…. Yuskue, you have to get that soul from that girl…… They'll use her as the host body…"  
  
  
  
"H-Host body?"  
  
  
  
"The carrier of her soul… You have to save her, Urameshi! I heard them talking, they said she was the perfect host for her soul……. They're going to attack her tomorrow. They're going to use her friends to force her to… to…" Kuwabara's eyes flickered and then closed as he slipped from consciousness.   
  
  
  
"But why'd they attack Kuwabara? Oh man!" Yuskue moaned, "How do I know this is going to be painful before the end…?" 


	4. Kurama hater!

"So now are you going to bring them to spirit world?" Kurama asked softly after Yuskue divulged his story. Yuskue stood, leaning against the wall, his eyes surrounded by a puffy redness, his shoulders twitching occasionally.   
  
  
  
"Yes, Kurama. It seems we have no choice." Koenma relented with a heavy sigh. "But what is it that you think it'll accomplish, eh? Other than cause more trouble…"  
  
"  
  
We're already in for a world of hurt and trouble," Yuskue spoke up, his tone strained, "So a little more won't do a whole lot."  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"I tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end, it doesn't even matter…!"  
  
  
  
Autumn lifted her hands to cover her ears, shooting a disgusted look at Jessica, "You're singing sucks! Shut up, please!"  
  
  
  
"I put my trust in you, I went as far as I can go…" She let it drift off there, sparing her friends much pain. She flashed then a grin, then skipped ahead, humming the rest of the song.   
  
  
  
Shanta quirked an eyebrow, gesturing to Jessica, she muttered to Autumn, "Whats with her?" Autumn shrugged, at a loss for words. Jessica began belting out the lyrics to the Yu Yu Hakusho theme song, startling passerby. She wasn't usually so obnoxious, or, not as much as she had been all morning. Not once had she been serious, not once had she used a word with more than two syllables. Most unlike her usual self. This only vaguely worried her friends, who were enjoying themselves too much to really stop and think about her behavior. They dismissed it with a casual shrug and a smile.  
  
  
  
"When you're feeling, sad and lone, we will take you where you gotta go, smiling and dancing, everything is free, all you need is positively! Colors of the world, spice up your life. Every boy and every girl, spice up your life. People of the world, spice up your life!"  
  
  
  
"Ooookay, now she's singing spice girls." Shanta laphed, "Stop it Jess!"  
  
  
  
"I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world, laphing plastic, its fantastic! You can brush my hair, and take me everywhere! Imagination, life is your creation." She sang, "I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world, laphing plastic, its fantastic! You can brush my hair, and take me everywhere! Imagination, life is your creation. I'm a blonde, beautiful girl in the fantasy world, dress me up, make it right, I'm your dollie." She paused for a moment, "What next, do I have any requests?" This was met by silence. "…One way, or another, I'm gonna find you, I'm gonna get you, get you, get you, get you. One way, or another, I'm gonna win you, I'm gonna get you, get you, get you. One way, or another, I'm gonna see you, I wanna meet you, meet you, meet you, meet you. One day, maybe next week, I'm gonna see you, I'm gonna meet you, I'll meet you. I will drive past your house, and if the lights are all down, I'll see whose around…"  
  
  
  
"Can't you sing more than one verse?" Autumn asked, irritated at both the horrid singing and the choice of songs.   
  
  
  
"Nope!" She said brightly, and began to sing again, "I can't say if this feeling coming over me is real, but I know its something you can't steal. So I'll buy another problem to approach, sell a virgin life that can't be touched, and so I fall again… so I fall again… so I fall again.. And so I break through this broken piece of wood, again… I can't say if this unfriendly subject should be dropped, but I know its something you can't stop. So I'll buy another pick up line and sigh. And pretend that everything is alright, and so I fall again… so I fall again… so I fall again.. And so I break through this broken piece of wood, again…" She grinned peevishly, and began her next song, "I dreamed, that I knew, that secret code, I found the formula, found the note. Not it's so easy to give you what you need, your face betrays you, it's not so hard to read! Big head. Back lash. I see your face and I wanna smash, smash! Gonna take you far. You're charm, sweet sound, its up for sale. Go climb Mount Everest, you can't afford to fail. A certain beauty, that million dollar smile, just give them what they want, before it's out of style. You wanna smash, smash, gonna take you far. Don't wanna crash, crash, who you think you are. Big head. Back lash. I see your face and I wanna smash, smash! Gonna take you far…" Jessica sighed, suddenly falling silent. She let her hands fall to her sides, a frown resting on her face. Perplexed at her sudden halt of songs, Autumn caught up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
  
  
"You okay?" She asked, her tone fringed with worry. Jessica nodded glumly, her hazel eyes losing the spark she had just a moment ago. "Seriously?"  
  
  
  
"Sure." She mumbled. She scuffed the sidewalk with her toe, stuffing her hands in her pockets, her manner almost painfully slow.   
  
  
  
"Coming in a cloud," Shanta sang softly, Autumn and Jessica jumping in, "In a faceless town, I need to feel the touch of a friend. In the countryside, I wander face and wide, The isolation gets me again. I don't know where to go, when I feel like crying out, "Oh My!" Its time to open myself, to something new. I wanna stop. And grow up again. Then suddenly, my power and confidence are welling up; magically erupt. And its all because of kindness I feel- from people I don't even know! Then suddenly, my intuition and my wisdom grow, and then I know, that most of all I said compassionately, gets stranger wherever I go! Thank you for waking me up!"   
  
  
  
"Now that I've wasted a good hour singing, we should get going." Jessica said, a shadow of a smile on her face.   
  
  
  
"Good idea, Brittany Spears." Autumn agreed. She snarled as Jessica leaned over and ruffled her hair.  
  
  
  
"No, she sounds more like an American Idol dropout." Shanta argued, getting her hair ruffled as well. Wincing, she hissed, "Don't touch the merchandise!"  
  
  
  
"What merchandise?!" Autumn replied, as usual.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"Oh my," Botan murmured to herself as she surveyed her surroundings, thoroughly lost. Her face scrunched up in confusion. "I do wish Koenma gave me a map." She shielded her eyes with the edge of her hand as she peered into the sky, then she returned her gaze to the street, Tokyo's various attractions in her line of sight. She frowned, "Why didn't he send Yuskue or Kurama with me?" Heaving a sigh from deep within her chest, she smiled ruefully, "It could be worse, he could have made Hiei come with me. Being lost is better than an afternoon with him!" A shudder passed her shoulders and she started off once more, hopelessly bewildered.  
  
  
  
As the afternoon's sun wore down, the evening air, rather chilly on the day, replacing the warm afternoon's. Botan continued to wander aimlessly through the city, firmly telling herself that if she really did get lost, Koenma would send her some help. This, unfortunately, was not so, for Koenma had a lot on his plate, and had no time to fret over her, seeing as she wasn't overly important at the moment. So poor Botan roamed in the city, alone and afraid, until dark. It was when she had planned to have a break down, when she spotted her goal. Her objective, more like it. Pleased, she set after the three unknowing American girls, careful to keep hidden in the masses.  
  
* * *   
  
  
  
Singing their lungs out they strode back to the hotel, their arms over one another's shoulders. They walked at bit lopsided, but didn't take much notice. The street lamps shone brightly, and they often had to close their eyes against the ever-present glare. Whether they noticed Botan or not was obvious; they remained oblivious as to her presence. If they had noticed the ditzy blue-headed girl, they would have chased her down and forced her to bring them to Kurama and Hiei. And perhaps, would have demanded a ride on her oar.   
  
  
  
They screamed the chorus of some song, their voices drowned out by the rushing traffic. After a few more minutes of singing, they released one another and continued walking, now silent and out of breath. "As far as I'm concerned," Jessica muttered to Shanta, just loud enough for the shorty to hear,   
  
"Autumn's singing voice sucks worse than mine." Shanta snickered loudly, glancing at her friend.   
  
  
  
"Oh yeah?!" Autumn barked, her mouth curling up in a dog-like snarl. Her hands twitched at her sides, as though she longed to strangle some one.   
  
  
  
"I think we all sing bad," Shanta broke in, still choking on her laphter, "But its not like it matters…"  
  
  
  
"I could beat her on American Idol," Jessica informed them snappishly, boldly sticking her tongue out at the already peeved Autumn, who let out a low, threatening growl.  
  
  
  
Actually, neither girl was angry, it was just an excuse to argue and get into a fight. So they continued to bicker, pretending to be in a fit of rage, much to the entertainment of the other people on their way home, or to a hotel, or to some odd thing. Some how Shanta got herself sucked in, and gladly threw insults at her pals.  
  
  
  
"Shut up, baka inu!" Jessica told Autumn after a particularly nasty insult.   
  
  
  
"You shut up, you kitsune wannabe!" Autumn shot back, her brown eyes glistening.   
  
  
  
"I AM A KITSUNE- I DON'T NEED TO BE A WANNABE!"  
  
  
  
"In your dreams, you crybaby nigen."  
  
  
  
"Shut up, Shanta!"  
  
  
  
"You shut up!"  
  
  
  
"YOU!"  
  
  
  
"You know what, you both need to shut up!"  
  
  
  
"Baka inu!"  
  
  
  
"Baka henjin, kitsune wannabe."  
  
  
  
"Demented poodle."  
  
  
  
"Kurama hater."  
  
  
  
"YOU JUST STEPPED PAST THE LINE, GIRL!" Jessica dove, her hands shot right at Autumn's throat. Autumn stepped out of the way, letting Jessica crash into an innocent teenage boy, who shrieked with laphter at the odd Americans.  
  
  
  
"Kurama hater, Kurama hater, Kurama hater, Kurama hater, Kurama hater, Kurama hater, Kurama hater, Kurama hater, Kurama hater, Kurama hater, Kurama hater, Kurama hater, Kurama hater, Kurama hater, Kurama hater, Kurama hater, Kurama hater!"  
  
  
  
"I'M GONNA KICK YOUR BUTT!"  
  
  
  
"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY, YOU KURAMA HATER!"  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Botan chuckled at the girls' antics, making a mental note to tell Kurama. She had to speed her pace as her assignments sped off down the side walk, screaming insults in every language they could think of: Korean, Spanish, Japanese, and, of course, American. It pleased her to see the eldest acting normally, it meant she had no idea of what she had. But at the same time, it worried her greatly, if she did not know what she had, her guard would not be up, and the others may get to her first, conning her into listening to them. That would be even more disastrous than if the girl used the power of the stone herself. Botan shuddered inwardly. Chaos would consume the earth even if they didn't get to her before she discovered the power in which she had. But if they did, Pandemonium would spread into the Makai, the Kakai barrier that separated the demon world from earth and the Makai would be broken, and all they had worked for would be destroyed. Again, Botan shuddered. But, she reminded herself, Aoitsuki couldn't do a whole lot in that girl's body. She has no spirit strength what so ever. Unless… No, she could not do it. She couldn't reach that ultimate level of control, could she? No, the girl would have to give her consent. No, no, it would never happen. Would it?  
  
* * *   
  
Kurama heaved a sigh, his tone fringed with frustration. He frequently inclined his head to check his watch, tension building up within him. "Where the heck is Botan?!" He cast a glance around the room, his emerald eyes resting on Koenma's tiny form. The toddler-like prince of the Makai slumped over in his chair, rubbing his face with weary hands, moaning. Kurama sighed again, his shoulders sagging. This was not going to be a piece of cake type mission. Then again, when was the last time they had one of those?   
  
* * * 


	5. Two wordls clash

At last the girls had calmed themselves a level or two. They seemed in no hurry to get back to the hotel, and chose to slow their pace to that of an elderly woman. Jessica was filled with an oddly content feeling, as though she was a basin, suddenly filled up with warm water. She let her gaze travel from her giddy friends to the other people on the sidewalk. She spotted a young man, and after a moment, let out a gasp. The young man had long, scarlet hair that hung to his back, with slight curls here and there. His mouth teased upward in a pleasant smile, his boyishly handsome face lighting up with a look that matched hers. His attire was casual: a simple green T-shirt and a pair of jeans. He fit in well with the other people wandering around them. He inclined his face, his eyebrows slightly raised at her. She gazed into his brilliant emerald eyes with an expression only to be described as love.  
  
Jessica didn't dare blink, her hazel eyes wide in surprise. She hadn't a thought of the Kurama look alike, nor of the night she had pursued him. Her fingers splayed at her sides, then contracted inwards upon themselves, then repeating the gesture several times. She lifted her elbow, sharply jabbing it into the closest person's ribs- Autumn. Her response to this rudeness was a dog-like snarl, as she always reacted. Jessica nodded her head at the redhead, then poking Shanta in the shoulder, nodding again. Both girls rolled their eyes, but seemed to understand none-the-less. Jessica's hand sought her pants pocket, sure enough, there was a warm bulge. The freaky marble from that night... Immediately she sensed that was what Kurama wanted.  
  
"Hey you!" Shanta cried at the redhead, her hands resting lightly on her hips, "We wanna talk to you, boy."  
  
Jessica stiffened at her straight forward manner. One of these days, Shanta would end up telling some thug that he was ugly- and get her face bashed in. Kurama's smile melted her nerves, and she was sure she would keel over at any moment. He was just so gorgeous! "Kawaii!" She murmured, just loud enough for him to hear. Kurama's eyes lit up with a warmth that Jessica had never experienced. Her body tingled and her brain went dead.  
  
"Thank you for the compliment." Kurama approached the three, whose steps had long since ceased. Jessica shivered at the sound of his voice, it was just as it was on the show, yet more real to her, some how. "Though I hardly consider myself charming."  
  
Jessica felt her cheeks burn with the hue of embarrassment- scarlet. I only she was prettier! "I sopose you don't look in the mirror often then, K- Kurama."  
  
"I haven't the time. Besides, I might become conceited if I looked at my mirror often enough to make myself believe I'm Kawaii."  
  
"It wouldn't take very long." Jessica hurried to say, her freckles standing out far more than normal against her crimson cheeks. She nervously stuck her hands into her pants pockets and stared at the ground, her mousy brown hair falling infront of her face, a bashful hush coming over her. She scuffed the sidewalk with the edge of her shoe. A nervous chuckle came from her lips.  
  
Autumn swallowed hard, her brown eyes looking oddly glossy, a broad grin on her face. It occurred to her that both Jessica and the both really thought he was Kurama! "Well, Kurama," She said, more than a hint of mockery to her tone, "Where's Hiei?"  
  
Kurama turned to her, his emerald eyes glinting. Her sensed her disbelief, and chose to ignore it, for now. She would soon see that her wildest dreams had come true, along with her worst nightmares. "Hiei..." He called softly, inclining his head towards a darkened alley, his smile fading into a look of serious contemplation.  
  
Taking his sweet time, Hiei emerged from the shadows, tilting his head to the side as though curious. His eyes fell on Autumn, who gasped, her body giving a little involuntary twitch. He laphed, stowing his hands in the deep pockets of his robes. He sauntered over to a bewildered Shanta who was bit lightheaded from the sudden rush of adrenaline that had flooded her system at the sight of the short demon, she let out a nervous giggle. She leaned back, not planning to get in his face just yet. Their reaction to this was very amusing to Hiei, who took his place beside Kurama, who shot him a warning glance.  
  
Botan chose to come from the crowd then, her long ponytail of blue hair swinging behind her head with every step. She smiled at Shanta and Autumn. But when her gaze came to Jessica, her smile sagged to a frown. "Whats with her?"  
  
Jessica lifted her face a fraction of an inch to peer at the ditzy Grim Reaper. Her shoulders gave a little twitch as Autumn had, and she straightened herself to get a good look at Hiei. "What do you want with us?" Jessica asked at long last, her hazel eyes flashing. She knew quite well what they wanted, it was a bit obvious. That marble was not of this world, she knew it. But it had drawn her in, and she realized that she didn't want to give it up. Even to Kurama! What demonic powers did it have over her?! She would never want to keep something from Bishouhen! "Wait, let me rephrase that question: What is it that I've got? Whats with this freaky marble?"  
  
Kurama's eyes widened in surprise, his mouth opening a slight fraction. Then he calmed down, his smile returning, "Of course you realized you had something special. I've noticed you have great perception skills. But I cannot tell you here. Come with me." He lifted a hand, extending it to her. Jessica refrained from screaming giddily and jumping up and down, and quickly put her hand to his. Their fingers touched, and Jessica shivered despite the warmth of his skin. His hand held hers tightly, and he gave a small pull, leading her closer to him. She was only a foot or less away from him! She longed to just wrap her arms around him and kiss him before he could stop her- but she some how felt that would be wrong.  
  
Shanta smiled happily, her pupils sliding to the corners of her optics. She frowned when she saw Hiei's hands were in his pockets. She gradually inched closer to him, finally letting out a scream and grabbing his arm, pulling it to her with a sudden jerk. Hiei snarled, his other hand reaching for his katana as he struggled to regain his balance. As his fingers touched the hilt, Kurama spun on his heel and told Hiei off. "You know not to flash that thing around in public! Put it away- put it away!"  
  
Hiei let out a snarl, but did as Kurama said. He cringed as Shanta's arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him right up against her. Shanta snuggled with him, despite his desperate pleading to be released. He put a hand on her forehead, shoving her away, but her iron-like grip on him was unbreakable. He gave up, folding his arms acrossed his chest, the usual scowl settling on his face. Oblivious as to his discomfort, Shanta held fast.  
  
Autumn watched Shanta with a look of mingled curiosity and jealousy. She shoved her hands into her jacket's pockets and followed the group as they headed down the sidewalk again, her silent figure ignored. Well, not ignored, just overlooked and forgotten. She stubbornly told herself this was a dream, it wasn't real. Botan slowed her pace to walk beside the uncharacteristically quiet, curly-headed short one. Not sure if the girl wished to talk, Botan kept silent. "So, you're telling me this is real," Autumn said at last, to soft for the others to hear.  
  
Botan gave her a quizzical look. "Well, of course it is! What do you think I am, your imagination!?"  
  
As Botan and Autumn bickered back and forth, Jessica felt her mind slipping into a dreamy state. Kurama was holding her hand! She knew it was simply because she had the stone, and it must be protected, but that did not bother her much as she let the warmth of his hand course through her body. Kurama gave her a smile with his eyes when looking at her occasionally. Jessica looked at her sneakers so as to keep herself from openly staring at him. "Where is it that we're going?"  
  
"Spirit world; it's the only place safe for you." Kurama said from the corner of his mouth. "No more talking, it's to dangerous."  
  
Her mind wandered, and she found herself considering asking him to kiss her. It also occurred to her that her mother would flip had she known her daughter was holding hands with an Anime character [the key words there were "holding hands"]. Unable to restrain her eyes any longer, she raised her face to gaze at him. She felt her face burn as her eyes met his- he had been looking at her! His cheeks had a scarlet tinge to them as he looked away.  
* * *  
  
His pale blue eyes glistened in the light of the moon, his long azure hair blowing across his face in the slight breeze. A chuckle arouse from his lips as he watched the miniscule figures trudge through the endless crowds, unaware of his presence. His attire was that of a demon, most defiantly. His pure white shirt had slits on the sides of the sleeves, showing his ashen skin. His navy blue pants hung loose about his legs. His bare feet rested on the edge of the roof of an old temple, remade into a restaurant. He tilted his head to the side, a smile on his lips. "Ah, Kurama, you merely prolong the capture of that girl. As soon as you let go of her hand, she is mine." He let his gaze fall away from the scarlet hair of the fox, turning to look at Autumn, his smile twitching. "A weakness..." He laphed again, his hands now resting on his hips. He tossed his head back as he laphed, lifting his hands to his front, his fingers giving a lusty spasm. "Fools!"  
  
He walked with calm reserve to the end of the roof, his eyes trailing Autumn's every movement. His hands assumed the position of some sort of spell's stance, his fingers intertwining with each other, then his palms facing outward into the night, the backs of his hands against his chest. He began to utter the ancient words of an incantation, his eyes closing in concentration. His aura spun around him, a stream of sheer light and power. Behind him a slight blur in the scenery appeared. Slowly it began to take a physical from, that of a girl. Its lines defined themselves, darkening until the figure was fully complete. Autumn looked about her, confused and terrified. Had she not been running along with that Botan-looking woman? When she caught sight of the one who summoned her, she screamed.  
* * *  
  
"Hiei, we're being attacked!"Kurama released Jessica's hand, leaning over and putting his arms around the girl's waist instead. He hesitated only a moment before he gave his hair that-all-to-familiar sweep with his hand, the pulling his hand back infront of him, holding the blood-red rose loosely between his index and middle fingers. He pulled the rose to his left shoulder, slowly with the skill he had gained by constant usage and practice, only to whip it down to his right hip, calling out, "Rose whip!" The thorn-coated vine fell to the ground at his feet, the thicker end in his hand, serving as the handle. Soft, red rose petals scattered around them, floating down in swirling bunches. Jessica inhaled sharply, her hazel eyes reflecting the little blurs of red. Kurama pulled her closer, one hand holding his waist, the other holding the whip. Her face burned with embarrassment at his straight forward manner, and a quiet sigh let her lips before she could stop herself.  
  
Hiei's hand strayed down to the hilt of his sword, closing around it and unsheathing it with speed like the gods. His intense red eyes scanned the area for possible enemies, adrenaline rushing through him, giving him a strong sense of excitement. Botan inched over to his side, her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide in horror. Shanta's grip loosened and she let her arms fall away from his body. Hiei's face jerked in her direction and he ordered her not to let him go. Blushing happily, she did as he commanded.  
  
"Botan," Kurama snapped, not having the time to be polite. "Do you have you're paddle?" She nodded. "Good. I need you to bring these two to Spirit world, and get there as soon as possible!"  
  
Botan lifted her hand above her head, and with a small snap and a glimmer of light, she had acquired her paddle. She beckoned to Shanta, and swung her leg over her oar. Shanta looked at Hiei for a moment, then dropped away from him and leapt onto the oar. Kurama gave Jessica a slight nudge with his thigh, and she stumbled over to Botan and her best friend. Her shoulders shook with fear, her hazel eyes examining her surroundings, as Hiei did, looking for Autumn. She knew perfectly well Kurama had spasded because she had disappeared, but something told her that she was still near. Stifling a sob that had welled up in her chest, she climbed rather clumsily onto the paddle. "We're off." Botan cried, a slight note of nervousness to her tone. Jessica tried desperately to lock eyes with Kurama, to make him tell her who had taken Autumn. She knew he knew, she knew he didn't want her to know, she knew he knew what sort of trouble had befallen Autumn. But he didn't meet her eyes. In fact, he avoided them.  
  
As the oar left the ground, their feet lifting from the pavement, Jessica said, "Be careful, Kurama! I haven't been obsessed with you for years for you to up and die right after we first meet!" She flushed and hid her face against Shanta's shoulder. Shanta wrapped her arms around Botan's slim waist to keep from falling off . Jessica felt herself sliding into Shanta, and fought panic as she grabbed the wood in her hands and closed her eyes. She told herself not to be scared of heights. Unfortunately, she didn't listen. "This ride is going to suck."  
* * *  
  
"Okay Botan, now you're just showing off!" Shanta cried, lifting an arm to shield her eyes from the onslaught of air. Botan laphed richly and spun the oar again, stopping when they were completely upside down, Jessica screaming, her eyes wide as she looked at Tokyo, hundreds of feet below her. Shanta let out an excited scream, releasing Botan's waist to let her arms hang beneath her, her legs securely curled around the oar.  
  
Jessica screamed louder, tears streaming from her eyes. "PUT US UPRIGHT- PUT US UPRIGHT!" Botan chuckled and did as she was told. Jessica panted, her breathing strained and her nerves twitching. She shook madly as she tightened her grip on Shanta's waist.  
  
Shanta stuck her tongue out, her face tinted purple. "Ugh! You're.. suffocating... me, Jessica!" She swatted at Jessica's hands, forcing the girl to loosen her grip. Shanta leaned over slightly to look at the spectacular view below her. She let out a gasp of happiness, and urged Jessica to open her eyes and check it out. Jessica's face, however, was firmly planted against Shanta's back, her eyes tightly closed and her sobs muffled. Shanta watched her closely from the corner of her brown eyes, sympathy causing her to croon softly to her hysterical friend. Jessica sobbed louder, again her grip began to tighten for fear of falling.  
  
"Botan, where are we going? I thought we were headed to Spirit World." Shanta said, fairly shouting against the roar of the wind.  
  
"We are- but to get there we must first go through the prepared portal a few miles from here!" Botan cried back, then added, "How's your friend doing?! She seemed a bit skittish to me. I'm worried about her!"  
  
"She'll be fine once we get off," Shanta said as though trying to convince herself along with Botan. She grinned at the thought of Jessica stuck in this apprehensive state for the rest of her life. Her grin turned demonic as she imagined how easy it would be to scare her. "But you better hurry, I think she's going to wet her pants!"  
  
"I AM NOT, YOU BLOODY LIAR!" Jessica thundered. As soon as the words left her mouth, lighting cracked against the dark night shy, a rumble of thunder accompanying it. Botan screamed, altering her course to avoid another strike, swerving side to side, her control over the oar weakening. They all screamed in unison as another lightening strike lit the sky beside them. The wind picked up, blowing them further off course. To top it all off, it began to down pour. "Oh, this so figures!" Jessica bellowed, her fear of heights gone, replaced by her intense hate of rain. "Botan, hurry this thing up!"  
* * *  
  
Kurama's face jerked upward, his emerald eyes coming to rest on the rooftop on a nearby restaurant. Hiei followed suite, his red eyes glowing with a dark radiance in the dark night. The figure that stood on the edge of the roof backed away into the shadows, a scream accompanying his departure. Kurama's body went rigid as he heard the scream, shivers playing up and down his spine. "Autumn!" He murmured, his eyes narrowing in rage. Hiei moved to follow, but Kurama put a hand infront of Him, halting him. Hiei cocked a brow, perplexed as to why Kurama would have reason to be so rude.  
  
"Fox?" Hiei muttered, facing Kurama.  
  
"It would be suicide to attack him now, with just the two of us. He is teleporting back to his nasty little hide out. We alone can not take on an entire demon army. Even with Yuskue... We will have to let him go." Kurama spoke with a soft tone, his face darkening with both hate of the figure, and himself.  
  
"Hn." Hiei sheathed his sword with a hesitant air, a slight pout to his face. He followed Kurama as the redhead bolted towards the other end of town- and the portal to the Makai.  
* * *  
  
Koenma settled himself a bit more comfortably against his throne-like chair. He folded his hands on the desk infront of him and cleared his throat importantly. "Girls," He began, his tone heavy as though he were burdened with very bad news.  
  
"Look toddler, we wanna know who the heck took Autumn and why!" Shanta snapped, obviously undaunted by his superior air. She slammed her fist on the desk, causing both the prince, and timid Jessica, to wince.  
  
Peeved at being interrupted, Koenma's next words had a slight growl to them. "I'll get to that in due time!" He stopped for a moment as Kurama and Hiei entered the room, soaked and tired. He continued, "Jessica has in her possession a stone of unfathomable power. I tell you this because I have no choice, I'm afraid you have me cold. I cannot forcibly take it from you, no matter how hard I try. The stone's actual name is not 'freaky marble', nor is it a stone at all. It is Aoitsuki's soul."  
  
Shanta's brown eyes enlarged to roughly the size of the stone, her mouth hanging open in horror. Jessica's eyes sought her's, for she was perplexed as to her reaction. But Shanta, as Kurama did, avoided her eye.  
  
"Aoitsuki is a psychic from the early five-hundreds, most likely the strongest earth has ever seen, and hopefully ever will see. She had skills one can only dream of: one of which was the freedom to pass between worlds without much effort, despite the barrier. She could annihilate entire towns with a breath, and even bragged that she could slay an A class demon. At first, she used her talents for good, allying with us to push our forces farther in the demon world. But she fell in love with a demon while in the demon world, and, at his prompting, she refused to continue aiding us. In fact, she and Zurui, her demon mate, began fighting our forces, pushing us back. We were forced to retreat. They left the demon world to terrorize earth and it's people. Ever heard of Atlantis? It was the continent that they managed to fully destroy."  
  
"T-They destroyed an entire continent?!"  
  
"Yes. But one day our forces came acrossed Zurui, alone and unprotected by his love, and destroyed him. He had little power compared to hers. Enraged, she gathered up a demon army, planning to fight my father so she could open the gates to the after life and get Zurui back. Father had little power against her, and he sought the help of an A class demon that had escaped into the Makai, but had chosen to ally with us. He went by the name of Shi, his real name was never told to us. He fought her, and managed to kill her. What we didn't know until now was the fact that Shi had hit her so hard with one of his blasted spells, he had knocked out her soul. She some how managed to harden it against fading away, making it into a perfectly round, blue stone. Shi had it in his possession up until a week ago, not trusting anyone with it. But he was attacked, and it was stolen from him. He pursued the demon that had attacked him, but was unable to find the stone. The demon had dropped it. As you may have guessed, the demon was one of Aoitsuki's old followers. Shi was ambushed again, this time he couldn't handle them, and was captured. As far as we know he's dead, and we hope so. If the enemy has gained his assistance, we're doomed. We are also doomed if you refuse to give us that stone." Koenma looked directly into Jessica's hazel eyes, she inhaled sharply, her lungs contracting painfully.  
  
"K-Koenma, why can't you take it from me?! If it's so darn powerful, why do you play these games, why don't you just take it?! I'm not in the least a problem to you, just take it!" She shouted, her eyes sparking with an angry fire. "But you can't, can you?!" Her voice became soft and quiet, "Can you? What is it that prevents you from taking it, start talking or I'll use this thing on you!"  
  
Koenma looked flustered at her sudden aggression. "Well, well, you see... The power of that stone is said to awaken from a strong, heartfelt emotion. If we where to attempt to take it from you, it may just set the stone off. The only thing with that is, the stone can only awaken in the hands of a proper host body, and we don't know if you're the one."  
  
"Host body, eh? Kuwabara said something about that." Yuskue stood in the door, his body leaned against the doorframe. His arms were crossed, and his face was pale and serious. Jessica hadn't ever seen him so grave, not in a single one of those episodes.  
  
"Yes, he did. A host body is a body capable of harboring souls other than their own, either at the same time, or giving up theirs for another's." Koenma informed them heavily, "That is why Aoitsuki's followers are so bent on getting Jessica, they seem to be sure she is the body they need."  
  
"A-Am I?" Jessica asked softly, her head inclined, her eyes on the tile floor.  
  
"Well-"  
  
"We don't know that for sure!" Kurama interjected hastily, "We have no proof!"  
  
Jessica's mouth turned down in a frown, her eyes dulling in thought, her contemplation ending the conversation. "I-I need to think..."  
  
"Ayume!" Koenma snapped, "Get these girls a room to rest in!"  
* * *  
  
Jessica did not bother to look at the room before collapsing onto the bedroll with a groan. She curled up and pulled the pillow over her head. Shanta, who was younger by a year and had far more energy, took a cautious look around the small, closet-like room. It was obviously an office, for a desk stood in the corner with a neat pile of papers stacked in a tray and an empty coffee mug. Two bedrolls had been place in the room, Jessica occupied one. Curiosity sparked in Shanta and she ventured over to the desk to open its solitary drawer. It slid open with the slightest prompting of her fingers, revealing several pens, blank notepads, and a framed picture. It was one of Kurama's mother, Shori. She sat on a bench in a pleasant little garden, her smile radiant. So this was Kurama's office! Shanta, her curious nature now satisfied, lay down on the bedroll and closed her brown eyes.  
  
Jessica's mind spun. She had never felt to torn! Some thing deep within her told her to hold fast to the stone, but another told her to give it up immediately. Was the stone affecting her thought process? Was it telling her to keep it so she (Aoitsuki) could take over Jessica's body? Or, could she not take over without some sort of spell? Koenma had kindly left that part out. He had also left out why Autumn had been kidnapped, but Jessica knew it was because of the heart-felt emotion thing. Those followers would get to her through Autumn. But why couldn't she make up her mind? Was it because her skittish side was afraid of holding such power? Was it because she secretly wanted that power, to use it to became some one special? "Whats wrong with me?!" She screamed into the pillow, her words accompanied by muffled sobs. She turned onto her stomach and pounded the floor with her fists in frustration. "Why is this so hard?!"  
  
Unable to make up her mind, Jessica stood and left the room, Shanta not noticing. She stumbled down the hallway, her eyes encircled by red, puffiness. Her light steps made no sound in the hall, or she would have been found and reproved. She passed various doors, but not the one she wanted to see. She wanted answers, and if Koenma wasn't going to give them to her, she'd find them herself! After a good ten minutes of walking, she found the room she wanted. The door to the records library swung open without sound, and she breathed in deeply before entering. Shelves of books tower hundreds of feet above her, just looking at them made her dizzy.  
  
She wondered what she ought to look under. A for Aoitsuki, or P for possession? Maybe hey didn't have anything on it. As Jessica set about the task of gaining information, the absence of her friends welled up within her, and she longed for Shanta's company. She curled up beside a ladder, her arms pulling her knees up to her chin and sobbed softly to herself. "Autumn... You're probably dead now... All because of me..."  
  
"You can't deny that." A voice said above her with cunning softness. "However, you can get the girl back. That is to say, if you're willing to pay. The price is great, though not as great as what your friend's life is worth to you."  
  
Jessica lifted her face from her knees, her vision bleary on account of the tears. She came face to face with a demon- and she immediately knew who it was. The one who had kidnapped Autumn. Anger burned within her at his smiling face. He sat across from her in the library's isle, his arms folded against his chest. "What is the price, you-"  
  
He interrupted before she said something nasty. "You're cooperation, is all."  
  
Jessica scoffed. "And the catch?"  
  
Thrown a bit by her quick perception, he faltered. "... My name is Shi. I do believe that Koenma told you about me. What he did not tell you is that I chose to join Aoitsuki's followers, willingly. Why, you ask? Because she was justified to turn on that lying little brat. I don't know what nonsense he told you, but Aoitsuki did not betray him for her love. She betrayed him because he pushed first! Koenma was certain that her demon lover would convince her to turn, so he had him executed. Aoitsuki told me this before I killed her. I did not believe her, until I asked Koenma himself. He told me it was true, but that I must never tell another soul of it. He said he had that demon slain, and he said it with pride. I knew I had done wrong. So I waited for so may years for her followers to reappear so I could aid them in reviving her. Finally, a week ago, my dream came true. But the follower and I were attacked by the one you seem to adore- Kurama. He slew that demon, though did not take pride in it. He asked me why I had been speaking with one of the enemy, and when he learned my reason, he fled from me, knowing I could snap his weak body in half if he dare attack me too. He tattled to Koenma, and Koenma sent out a search for the stone. But it emits no energy so it is not easily found. You happened to stumble upon it, and now I ask this of you: will you ally with us? Will you help me ease my guilt and revive this innocent woman?"  
  
Jessica shook her head with mocking laphter, then stopped abruptly at the perplexity on his face. "You- You really think I'm that dumb? Do I come off as that stupid?!" She blinked at him in pure amazement. "I know that you want me to give up my body so her soul can shove mine out and I fade away. I don't want to seem selfish, but I don't want to give up my existence. Also, do you realize you are in a heavily guarded office building, and if a guard was to happen upon you... Sorry, but no."  
* * *  
  
Kurama lifted his head from his hands at the sound of a scream. He ran from Koenma's office, darting down the hall to the records library. As he ran through the open door, her scream met his ears again, this time not one of terror, but of pain. The demon had Jessica pinned to the wall, her arms stuck to it by blackened aura ropes. He had his hand on the bottom of her chin, the other around her neck. Her face was a dark shade of purple, her air cut off, and she was no longer able to scream. Her hazel eyes fell on Kurama, and she struggled harder against her bonds. Kurama did not think as he leapt at the demon, his whip as ready to slay Jessica's torturer as he. "You will give your consent girl, even if I have to skin you alive to do it!" The demon snarled.  
  
"Let her go, Shi!" Kurama shouted, bounding towards him, swinging the whip in an arch high above his head. Shi's response was a laph of mockery, and he tilted his head so as to look at the redhead, a sadistic smile on his face.  
  
"You think you have a prayer against me? Fool, you're heroism will get you killed." He applied pressure to Jessica's throat. She squirmed weakly, her eyes closing in pain. She gasped for breath, her body going limp.  
  
Kurama stiffened. "Let her go!" He snarled softly, but loud enough for Shi to hear. "Let her go. Perhaps I am not a match, but Yoko may be!"  
  
"He is another gnat that easily can be swatted." Shi let his hand fall away from her throat as he turned and advanced on Kurama with a calm air. "I will rip your tongue out and force you to each your words of valor. Then you can drown in your own blood."  
  
"N-N...ooo, Kurama!" Jessica gasped, her face pulled into a wince. She fought her bonds, her feet kicking madly as she attempted to set foot on the floor. Her weak body could do little against the spirit-made shackles. "Kurama... Please don't hurt him!"  
  
Kurama blinked at her protectiveness of him. She really would rather suffocate than see him in a battle? She must have known he had no hope against Shi. Kurama dare not look at her desperate hazel eyes, he knew he could not bare to see the agony within their depths. "Shi, I know I cannot possibly beat you, but you must at least listen! Koenma does not believe you are of your own person, he thinks you're possessed. But if it is you, then look at what you're doing! I know you, you are a man of compassion. So how can you torture an innocent child like this?! She has done nothing to hurt anyone!"  
  
"She has the stone. If I can get her to that high level of emotion, I can awaken Aoitsuki!"  
  
"Do you really think that she deserves to live more than Jessica?! Is that it? Is she more righteous than this girl? This girl is not to live so Aoitsuki can? That is injustice beyond that of killing Aoitsuki. Her soul will cease to exist, at least the psychic is in the after life!"  
  
"Please, leave me alone..." Jessica murmured weakly as Shi turned and resumed strangling her. This time she did not fight back, but let her face fall forward, her brown hair hiding her face. Her glasses slid from her nose and fell to the floor with a sound of shattering lenses. Her body gave an involuntary spasm of pain. Shi laphed at her helplessness.  
  
Kurama let his anger build, rage coloring his face red. He face had never had such hatred shine upon it, not even when his mother had been threatened. He knew how to get out of that one, but this situation was impossible to beat. So he let his anger bubble up into power, and he felt the sensation of adrenaline flooding his system. "If you do not stop this immediately, you will find yourself in a world of pain... And that world will never end for you. No, death is to good for one such as yourself, using others' pain as a distraction from your own sense of guilt. I will keep you alive so you can live in your agony, breathe it in, focus your pitiful existence on it. You will live long enough for me to shatter every bone in your body, bruise every inch of you skin, rip off each of your fingers, one by one. Finally I shall grow bored of you, and smash your soul within my hands..."  
  
Jessica struggled to lift her face. That wasn't the usual Kurama. Her hazel eyes sought his form, but her vision was blurred. Her glasses had fallen off, and now she could not see farther than the end on her nose. Her eyes trailed to the outline of Kurama's face- despite being half blind. Pointing in a rather definite fashion, from the top of his head, were the contour of two fox ears. Jessica pressed herself to the wall, more fear adding to her already large quantity. She did not know a whole lot about his Yoko form's attitude, nor his morals. Perhaps when he was done with Shi, he'd come after her, too. "Kurama... Please, don't get yourself killed!"  
  
"Don't plan to." The Yoko answered, his tone rather general, as though bored. "Nor do I plan to slay you, Suichii would not be pleased with me."  
  
Jessica blinked, suddenly aware that Shi had released her, and she could freely breathe. Her strength had returned to, and she fought hard against her bonds so as to escape. Shi seemed insensible towards her, his focus now upon Yoko Kurama. As he walked from Jessica's short line of vision, she pulled her head back, breathed in deeply, and spat on him. Immediately after, she cringed against the wall, fearing for her life. But Shi did not react to her, as if he did not realize she had spit on him, he simply ignored it. Amazed at her own daring, Jessica's mouth fell open, and she was stunned beyond thinking capabilities. Her mind went dead, to put it simply.  
  
"You're death is assured, Kurama. I do not care if you choose to hide in that body instead, it is all the same to me. As I said before, to Suichii, you are just another gnat to be squashed beneath my feet." Shi said, the maliciousness in his tone further scaring Jessica. By now she was on the verge of hysterics.  
  
"Now it not the time to talk, it is time to fight."  
  
"I was sure you'd like to prolong your life a few more moments, Kurama, by stalling me with a conversation. But if you are in a hurry to die, I can gladly be of assistance."  
* * *  
  
Yay! My first cliffhanger! *Does her victory dance, but trips on the carpet and falls on her face* OUCH! Um, anyway, please review! I'm much prefer if you email me if you have a question, so I can answer via email. Thank you, bye!  
  
Autumn groaned softly, her hand lifting to her face, massaging her not yet open eyes. Pain seared through her face, causing her to let out a scream. She felt the warmth of blood on her face and the sting of various cuts. She had fought with every ounce of fight in her; which was a great deal. Shi had finally knocked her unconscious, having grown tired of her and her incessant biting. That was all she could do, really, owing to the fact he had bound her with ropes of the same that bound Jessica hundreds of miles away at that very moment. Apparently Shi had untied her. "Where am I?" 


	6. The Yoko's grand entrance!

Autumn groaned softly, her hand lifting to her face, massaging her not yet open eyes. Pain seared through her face, causing her to let out a scream. She felt the warmth of blood on her face and the sting of various cuts. She had fought with every ounce of fight in her; which was a great deal. Shi had finally knocked her unconscious, having grown tired of her and her incessant biting. That was all she could do, really, owing to the fact he had bound her with ropes of the same that bound Jessica hundreds of miles away at that very moment. Apparently Shi had untied her. "Where am I?" She choked out, her voice raspy.  
  
"You're in your worst nightmare, kid." A figure suddenly towered over her, making her feel small and fragile. He was huge: a good seven feet, at least. His skin was a dark shade of purple, with various tattoos on both his arms and legs. His hair added to his wild look; yellow that reached his mid-back, and he had a thick, white horn protruding from the center of his forehead. All he wore was a loincloth, though, in Autumn's silent opinion, he ought to wear a great deal more. A club hung in his loose grip, a nasty red substance staining its spikes. Autumn shrunk away from this formidable Gargoyle, her face frozen in fear. The Ogre poked at her with his club, not quite touching her, but coming close enough to force her to cringe against the wall so as to avoid the spikes. "Scared girl? You should be, but not of my club. No, you need to fear for your future, once Shi gets that friend of yours to give her consent to the war of the souls, humanity is doomed." He let out a fierce laph, his booming causing the floor to tremble.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Autumn's pupils slid to the corner of her eyes as she peered around the demon to get a better look at her surroundings. She was in a cavernous room, with no windows, and no visible door, the walls, floor, and ceiling all the same shade of dreary gray. Several other demons lay on the other side of the room, apparently sleeping, for she heard their snores and sleepy grunts. Dismayed, Autumn turned her attention to the brute infront of her. "I said, what are you talking about?"  
  
"That is not for you to know, at least not yet. Don't worry, you'll have a front row seat to see your little friend give up her soul to our cause. You might even take part in it." The gargoyle took joy in the perplexity and fear on the small teen's face. Autumn felt concern for her timid friend well up within her, turning her fear of the beast into anger.  
  
"Tell me what the heck you mean, before I kill you!" She screamed, her cry out of her lips before she could stop herself. She crumbled under the death glare of the ogre, a soft sob escaping from her mouth. Where was she? And why?  
  
* * *   
  
"I can see your future, Shi… and your future is death." Yoko snarled, lifting his whip to his face, evenly spacing his feet in a stance. His mouth twitched upward in a cocky smile, his fox ears perking up in a defiant way. His sudden carefree spirit seemed to dare Shi to touch him, to attack, to attempt to shatter the Yoko's fun.   
  
Shi did not comply, instead, he seemed to wait for something. Had the Yoko know a rather sleepy, curious Shanta was on her way to that very room, looking for her friend with a worried look, he would have stopped her. The last thing he needed was another nigen to care for. But his focus was upon Shi, every ounce of his soul, mind, and strength. So when the girl stumbled into the room, her brown eyes wide, it through Kurama off.   
  
Shi's eyes fell upon her person, a demonic grin spreading acrossed his depraved face. Yoko's face lit up with understanding, his eyes also trailing to Shanta. With a light step, Shi was in the air, his body aimed in her direction. Yoko took flight also, his feet barely skimming the tile floor, his hands reaching out to the unknowing nigen girl. But he found himself skidding into the wall, his palms saving him the pain of a face-plant. He jerked his head to the side, his long, silver hair blowing acrossed his face. Shi was already in his former position, Shanta laying at his feet, obviously unconscious. Her cheek rested on her arm, a slight trail of blood at the corner of her lips. Her hair had fallen from her ponytail, and now covered her face. Yoko let out an angry growl of defeat.  
  
Jessica let out a terrified scream, her hazel eyes wider than Shanta's had been. "LET HER GO!" She screamed, her tone going from horrified to enraged. "I SWEAR TO GOD I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" She strained her wrists against the spirit ropes, and to her eternal surprise, felt them weaken under her stress. "KILL HIM, YOKO!"  
  
"Can do." Yoko smiled at her, a slight encouraging note to his words. Jessica returned the smile gratefully, her's a bit warmer. The angelic fox turned back to Shi, who, in order to infuriate the demon further, kicked Shanta's side, a soft demonic chuckle at his lips. The Yoko bristled, snarling threateningly under his breath. His hand curled up into a fist, his nails biting into his own flesh as his rage colored his eyes scarlet.   
  
Shanta let out a moan, turning over in her sleep, naturally shying away from Shi's foot. Her face was soaked with sweat, evidence of her dreams. Shi stooped, his hand grasping the collar of her shirt, lifting her to eye level. She choked, her face trembling. She was unaware that she suffocating as she slept. Shi gave her a slight shake, longing to hear her scream. Jessica continued to battle with the spirit ropes, her silent war going unnoticed by the A class demon. "… Hold on, Shanta…" She begged, her hazel eyes sparkling with tears. Her rage caused her body to tremble. Her face was inclined, her brown hair blocking her round face from view. Dots of water appeared on the fabric of her shirt, and a sob broke her lips as Shanta cried out in pain. She felt her wrists slip as the bonds were weakened further.   
  
Yoko did not hesitate before diving at Shi, his own rage pushing him into a power level he had used in his fight with Karasu. His feet blurred against the floor, his white shoes touching the ground without sound. He pulled his arm back, his whip flying up in an arc above his head, his body prepared to strike. Shi stood still, undaunted by the fox's sudden attack. His mouth played up in a mocking smile, and with a sweep of his arm, he tossed Shanta. She fell to the floor just to his right, skidding into a bookshelf. She lay still, unconscious, books falling around her as though raining. Just as Yoko swung his arm with vigor only a demon could muster, Shi dodged it, hopping lightly to the side, high over the whip's range of attack. He laphed as Yoko pursued him, pushing off from the floor, his eyes glinting with a thirst of blood. Shi landed beside Jessica, his hands folding behind his back and he whistled mockingly. The fox demon dove at him, again whipping his rose weapon at the mocking laphter, he fell just short of his goal, who had, again, leapt away. Jessica jerked her face up as the whip cut into the wall just above her head, and she stifled the urge to scream. "Sorry about that," Kurama told her, ducking after Shi.   
  
Jessica blinked, chunks of the wall in her hair sliding off her head, "N-No problem?" She muttered and sneezed as a cloud of dust swirled around her face.   
  
"Stop screwing around!" Yoko Kurama bellowed as Shi once more hopped away from the rose whip. Shi did not answer, his eyes closing in innocence, a solemn look coming over his face. Shi lifted his face up and to the side, his grin getting wider. Yoko blinked in perplexity, his brow furrowed in a frown. What the heck was Shi doing? Yoko was unable to fathom the ex-demonslayer's game. Jessica mumbled something softly, getting his attention.   
  
"He's playing with you, Yoko." She murmured, her eyes glowing with a desperate light. "He wants to brake your stance…" She trailed off and resumed her own fight. She lifted her feet, placing the soles of her shoes on the wall behind her, folding her legs. She pushed off with every ounce of strength she could muster, which wasn't even close to enough to brake the blackened ropes of energy. She lifted her eyes to the battle, or game of tag, more like it, watching as Yoko Kurama grew more and more frustrated, and Shi more childish. As the fox demon staged another attack, Shi stuck his tongue out at him, further infuriating him.   
  
Shi's plan seemed to be working. He was getting into the fox's head, plaguing him with such child like antics. He fell to the tile floor, one knee cracking on the tiles, his left palm skimming the floor infront of him, kicking up ancient dust that swirled around him in a billowing cloud. Yoko landed at his side, jerking his arm in his direction, the whip swinging at Shi's head. Shi gritted his teeth, pushing off from the floor with a snarl of surprise. The whip caught his arm, the thorns tearing into his flesh. He spun away, falling to the ground with blood spewing from his wound in a spiral of red. He hit with a soft cuss word, Yoko on him in a moment. Shi grinned, up in an instant, behind Kurama in half another. He grabbed the fighter's arms, pulling them behind his back. Yoko let out a string of angry words, pure hate in each one. Shi chuckled, jerking the demon back into him, placing his face just beside his, and whispered in his ear, "Poor Kurama, you can't seem to understand. You cannot beat me."  
  
His fox ears gave a little twitch as Yoko shuddered at the whisper in his ear. It sent Goosebumps up and down the skin on his arms. It felt as though some one was running an ice cube up and down his spine, the sharp cold burning his back. The evil that dripped from those words… "I'm really can't win," He said, to soft for anyone to hear. Fear colored his eyes dull, his mouth closing in a tight line. He felt his mind slip into a freezer of sorts, the thought of death paralyzing his thoughts. Shi's long, sharply edged nails cut into his arms. Blood flowed in streams from the wounds, the warmth of the liquid on his skin caused Yoko Kurama to shudder again, the immense contrast between his feelings frightening him. He felt helpless, his mind slipping from demon… To human… "NO!" He fought it, he fought the transformation hard, knowing that if he returned to his human form, he would die, along with Suichii. But it was to late! Strands of silver were replaced with scarlet, his eyes, a glowing yellow, lighting up with green. His power ebbed away, as though he held in it his palm, trying desperately to hold on, only to surrender it willingly. Suichii's mind awoke into his body, the Yoko's last thought pounding in his ears: "If I don't get free, I am going to die…"  
  
Kurama felt the pain well up within him from the wounds Yoko had gotten. The blood flow increased. His nerves seized up, causing him to twitch. He had to get away from Shi's grasp! He struggled against the powerful arms that held him, only to fall to the floor as he released him. His knees cracked painfully on the hard tile. Shi bent over him, lifting his foot to the human's side, delivering a sharp kick to his ribs. Kurama inhaled sharply, his eyes closing in pain. "Die!" Shi thundered fiercely, his face pulled up into the look of a killer, thirsting for a bloodbath. He lifted his arm, high above the human's head, the edge of his hand glowing with a black radiance. His hand descended upon the redhead's neck, the force of his fast movement blowing his clothes around his body, as though they may rip off.  
  
"NNNNOOOO!!!" Jessica screamed, her eyes wide with horror, "KURAMA!!!"  
  
  
  
Ohmigosh! Another point for me, I made another cliffhanger!!! Wait until you see the conclusion of the fight… It's a real shocker! *Laphs evilly* I ain't tellin' you nothing until I post it! 


	7. Chapter seven

Hiei lifted a hand to his forehead, a slight look of animosity on his face. His fingertips caressed the coarse fabric of his white bandana as though contemplating whether or not to untie it. The corners of his eyes twitching, he unfastened the knot, letting the scarf fall to the ground at his feet, fluttering slightly in the wind. His jagon eye, a radiant purple, was both beautiful and appalling. It captured the human mind with its alluring beauty, then trapped it with it's hidden demonic powers. The wind picked up, kicking up dust on the roof of some various building in Tokyo, tugging at the hem of his garments; his blackened robes. His other hand loosely held onto a communication wire that protruded from the roof, so as to keep him from sliding down the sloped roof. He could see most of the city from this height, and with his jagon eye now opening, he could see past the walls, into the inside of homes, stores, and the like, of the city. "Where is the brat?" He muttered under his breath, his tone dripping with disgust and irritation. He was referring to Autumn. Koenma had demanded that Hiei go find her, much to the oni's loathing. He could sense a presence over the city, one so evil, so disgusting, Hiei's sensitive jagon eye faltered under it. One, maybe two B class demons, at least six C class... Hiei began to calculate the other side's forces, and found himself marveling at how they got such ranks into Nigenkai. So, the leader of their forces was not a fool as Hiei had suspected, no fool could gather such an army right under Koenma's nose. Hiei's main eyes closed so he could use all his focus on the jagon. For some time he remained still, his lips moving to shape words, though he uttered no sound.  
  
Hiei's glinting red eyes opened, and with a light step, he leapt from the roof.  
  
Koenma inclined his face, his eyes scanning a computer printout. "No previous clashes with the supernatural. . . ." He muttered, his faithful Oger leaning over his shoulder so as to read along. "No crimes committed. . . .Clean, all three of them! But they all have family that would notice if they just disappeared . . . . I hate to do this, but. . . ." Koenma let his words fall flat, his brow creasing in contemplation. Would he dare erase all records and traces of these girls? They were expected home in two days, but how could they be sent off home with knowledge of this sort swimming in their heads? He could just erase their memories, but. . . . How? They had been exposed to the stone, therefore their own psychic powers would start raking effect any day now. They surely would notice their sudden powers, even if they did forget how they had gotten them, they'd still be there... Koenma held his head in his hands, his palms over his ears and moaned. This whole blasted thing was driving him to insanity!  
  
Oger did not like to see his employer so distraught. It was like seeing a small child cry. Actually, that was exactly what it was like. He cleared his throat and attempted to comfort the sobbing prince, "Sir, I'm sure they'll cooperate after their rest. I mean, you're always much more likely to listen after your nap, so they should be no exception, right? And, anyway, it's been an hour, so they should be waking up soon. . . ." Upon realizing Koenma was paying him no mind, Oger silenced himself and left the room with a sigh.  
  
"Jessica does seem level-headed," Koenma spoke aloud to himself, as though trying to convince someone of his point, "Maybe she will relent and give me the stone! Or, we could strike a deal! YEAH! That's it! I'll trade her Kurama for the stone!" He slammed a small fist into his palm as though in triumph. His smile was broad and joyous.  
  
"You have got to be kidding me, sir!" Botan waltzed into the room, her chipper face pulled into a look of exasperation. She shook her head slowly, her long ponytail of blue hair swinging behind her like the pendulum on a clock. "You wouldn't seriously consider trading Kurama away. . . .? Right? Eh-huhu!" She laughed, her tone nervous. [Sweat drop]  
  
Koenma heaved a sigh and looked down at his desk, and answered serious-as- you-please: "Desperate times call for desperate measures."  
  
Botan let out a cry of disbelief and slid to her knees, "Ooooh!" The corner of her eye gave a twitch, her hair suddenly looking very frazzled indeed. "Koenma is REALLY desperate." And she was right. Not only that, but their situation was, at that moment, becoming even more desperate.  
  
OH so much desperate.  
  
The hospital walls were so white that Kuwabara, at fist, thought he was in heaven. Everything was white: the nurses' outfits, the bedcovers, the tables and chairs, everything! But then he felt the searing pain of the gash on his side, and he realized he was in the hospital. His eyes trailed the IV from his arm to the bag of fluids hanging off a metal bar behind his bed. The pillow was heaven on his aching head, and the soft sheet caressed his bruises, lessening the pain they caused him. It occurred to him he was only looking out one eye, and he lifted a hand to find his left eye to be bandaged. As was his right wrist. His entire body was wrapped up here and there. Kuwabara strained his mind to remember what happened. Then it hit him, he had been attacked. Images flashed before his mind, random words said by his attackers:  
  
". . . Not one of your friends can protect those girls. . . . .Ha! That fool Koenma will never get her to give it up. . .Our only concern is that she figures out how to block her. . . .You cannot resist. . . .No, we will not kill you. . .You are of some use. . .Tell Koenma that she will be avenged. . ." Their cruel words spun around in his mind like toy boats in a whirlpool. He wanted them to shut up, to stop hurting his mind, to leave him alone! But, no! He had to remember exactly what they had said. And, he had to get out of here and tell Koenma what they were planning. But how? Most of his bones were broken, and his nerves were shot. But then, a soft, caring voice came to his rescue.  
  
"Oh, Kuzuma! What ever happened to you?!" He felt her warm hand fall on his, her delicate skin soft against his. His eyes flickered open to see her face, her large, expressive eyes full of concern at his condition. The corners of her eyes glistened with tears that were about to fall. Yukina was on the verge of sobbing. "Who-who did this to you?"  
  
"Y. . . . Yukina." He managed to say, his words slurred from drugs. "You gotta tell Koenma to. . . . Get the girl outa there. . . She ain't safe in spirit world either. . . They can get her there. . . . . She's gotta. . . . . . Run........." His eyes closed, and again he fell from consciousness. Yukina stood at his bedside, confused, her hand lifting to her mouth, her eyes flickering.  
  
Shanta felt something tugging at her to wake up in the back of her mind. Pain seared in every inch of her body, her head in particular. A moan passed her lips as she fought to clear her mind of the fog that kept her from thinking properly. She could hear someone screaming. After a second, her ears seemed to unplug, and she could distinguish who was screaming. Jessica. As Kuwabara's memory had returned, so did her own, like a jolt of static coursing through her mind. She opened her eyes, and her vision cleared fully. But what she was seeing did not make any sense.  
  
The records library was a place of chaos. Thick, light purple smoke filled the room. Books flew off the shelves, though nothing was forcing them to do so. They rained down on the figures in the room, though no one seemed to be getting hit. Shi stood, his arm raised, some sort of energy being transferred to his hand, causing it to glow black. At his feet lay Kurama, his scarlet hair blocking his face from view, streams of blood coursing down his upper arms. For a minute, she was sure he was dead, until she saw him attempt to lift himself, but was unable to. A third figure stood on the opposite side of the room. But who was it?  
  
Her raven hair fell to her midsection. She wore a kimono, its fabric a deep, bloody red. A black sash was tied around her incredibly slim waist. The smoke seemed to swirl around her body, making it obvious that she was its cause. A black aura surrounded her, like a shield, and it was billowing as though a sheet in the wind. The books that fell from the shelves fell directly on top of her, but froze just above her head and burst into violent flames. The gale blew her hair in her face, blocking it from Shanta's view. It tugged at her clothes, making them surge around her. Bolts of black static added to her aura.  
  
Shi let his hand fall to his side, his shoulders giving a slight sag. His eyes rounded. "My dream. . . . . Has come true!" Joy filled his every word, and he took a halting step towards the figure. She lifted a hand, stopping him. Slowly, the coursing wind ceased to be, hundreds of books falling to the ground. Her hair fell limply about her waist. She raised her face, her brilliant violet eyes glinting. They narrowed as her mouth tightened into a frown. "Aoitsuki! You-You've risen at long last!" He rushed to her, his arms out stretched. He fell to his knees a yard or so away from her, placing his forehead on the tile floor, spreading his hands out beside him. "Master!"  
  
The corners of her eyes twitched slightly. When she opened her mouth and spoke, her words were as cold as the wind in the arctic and as hard as steel. ". . . Fool. . . . ." She tilted her head to the side, lifting her chin slightly, "Go to Hades where you belong."  
  
Shanta let out a terrified scream as Shi erupted in flames just as the books had. His face was frozen in horror for a moment before the flames hid him from view. But, he was an A class demon! One breath and he was finished! She had been sitting on her knees, but now she fell back, her back hitting the bookcase behind her, several books falling at her sides. She hastily covered her mouth with her hands. Aoitsuki's head snapped to the side, her cool gaze falling on the terrified girl. She opened her lips to speak, but stopped. A flicker of confusion passed over her features. Her eyes closed for a moment as she massaged her temple. She then turned back to Shanta, who was still rigid against the bookcase. "Sh-Shanta?" Her tone was uncertain.  
  
Shanta nodded quickly, her hands still over her mouth. Sweat trickled down the edges of her face. Her eyes fell away from the woman's face, for it terrified her for some unknown reason. Her light brown irises instead came to rest on Kurama's form. His biceps clenched under his skin as his palms dug into the tile floor as he pushed himself up, his crimson locks brushing the floor infront of him as he slowly and painfully got to his feet, a wince on his face. His shoulders shook madly as he stood, on the verge of falling back over, his eyes half closed. His chest heaved as he inhaled deeply, his emerald eyes on Aoitsuki's back (She was between Shanta and Kurama). His eyes then met Shanta's, but he hastily looked away, pain clouding his eyes. He managed to speak, his words of anger directed at Aoitsuki. "YOU WITCH! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO A CHILD?!"  
  
She did not immediately react to his words. It took a full minute for her to turn to face the weakened redhead, her mouth curling into a smile. But this was not a pleasant smile. It was smug and cruel. "What? Terribly sorry, boy, did you feel attached to the dear girl?" She had a British accent, and her tone was thick with mockery. She closed her eyes slowly, her long lashes glinting slightly in the light. "Then again, you called her a child. Oh, you should hear her now," She tapped her temple with a long, sharp nail, "She has not idea whats going on. But, even in her haze of confusion, she bristled a bit at being called a child. She's Yuskue Urameshi's age, is she not? She wonders why you look down on her." She then gave a harsh laugh, her voice high and silvery. "But I sense it is not hostility you feel towards her," Her voice lowered cunningly, her eyes closing halfway, "No, your feelings are rather affectionate, no? You feel as though she is your little sister, and you must protect her at all costs. How cute."  
  
"You'll let her go. I know it. Her body is frail; and though it has taken on your shape, it is still hers. She is of no use to you. You cannot possibly use your powers properly using her. It must have drained you terribly destroying Shi a moment ago, and that certainty wasn't the limit of your powers. So LET HER GO."  
  
"You? Command me? How utterly hilarious. How do you know she did not welcome the change? Letting someone else take the steering wheel." Her eyes were now no more than slits of purple, "She was the one that opened the door to her body, not me. She saw you in danger, and she felt her friend's pain. She opened the door and begged me to help."  
  
"No. . . .You liar! Let her go, witch!" Kurama's face darkened with rage, his shoulders shaking in anger. "I know you can! Just let her go! You suffered, you know how it feels to loose your life. Do you want her to suffer the same fate? To loose all she loves because of the foolishness of another?"  
  
Autumn curled up, pulling her legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. The giant beast never lifted his gaze from her, and this she found very unnerving. She let her mind go black, it was far better than dwelling on her predicament. Her curls edged her light brown face, her eyes dulled over with emptiness. Her breathing was slow and controlled. Almost a full three hours she had been here, but it seemed like so much longer. Her stomach gave a little growl. She hadn't eaten in so long. She hadn't slept in so long either. But even as her eyelids became unbearably heavy, she resisted it. Who knew what they'd do to her while she slept. So she sat there, in the same position, in her own little reality, all alone. What else could she do?  
  
One of the sleeping demons gave a loud snort, jerking her from her stupor. She let her cheek rest on her knees instead, her eyes on the demons. She had felt so much fear and frustration before that she had drained herself out. Now she felt nothing. Like after you cry and cry for hours, afterwards you feel oddly dry and hallow. She had long since accepted that this had to be real, no dream would be this, well, boring. And she was so tired. Her muscles ached. Her back ached. Her head ached. Her eyes slowly closed as she promised herself it would only been for a moment of rest. She drifted off to sleep before she could open her eyes. . . . .  
  
"I said WAKE UP."  
  
Autumn felt a painful jab being delivered to her side, so hard that she woke up and immediately cried out in pain. Standing before her was a black- clad youth, his pale face void of human expression. His black robe was smattered with red, as was his face. Held loosely in his right hand was a sword, its blade glinting in the light. It too was stained scarlet. His crimson eyes held no remorse for kicking her. Autumn gingerly rubbed her side and glared at him. Hiei snorted in response and then chuckled.  
  
"Oh, stop scowling at me and stand up," He growled. She did as she was told, her light brown eyes darting across the room, falling on the carcasses of her captors. Hiei was certainly not very clean about killing them.  
  
"Uh, thanks," She said uncertainly, her eyes still on the remains of the Ogre. She stumbled slightly as she walked, for she was not looking at where she was going. Hiei replied with the usual "Hn," and that was that.  
  
Shanta stifled the pleas that she desperately wanted to say, to beg for her friend. She did not, despite the fact that she did think Jessica was very annoying, want her friend to lose her soul. She put a hand to the bookcase behind her and used it to help her up. Kurama slowly shook his head at her when she started to walk towards them.  
  
"You think I'm going to forfeit this body? Are you mad? She is perfect for me. Do you not sense how alike our souls are, Kurama?" She did not seem to be arguing, as though she was confident that the conversation was over, she was just putting in a few extra words.  
  
Kurama scoffed, "She is nothing like you."  
  
Aoitsuki's eyes clouded over with an eerie light. "Oh? There is the first thing we have in common. You assume what is on the outside is what makes her tick. Not at all. In that comment, you also stated another thing: we are both widely misunderstood. You assume I am evil because I do not agree with what you believe is right. You assume she is not like me because she does not voice her opinion, and so you jump to the conclusion that she agrees with you."  
  
". . . .If she is so alike, then do you not feel guilt taking her body? Don't you realize that you're dooming her to nonexistence? You hardened your soul, but she cannot do so. If you dare-" Kurama was cut off by she.  
  
"You are as foolish as Koenma! You think that people will just obey you, but you're wrong!" Her hands lifted, balling into fists. The wind picked up, swirling around her again, jerking more books from the shelves, all of it spinning around her. She inclined her face, her eyes narrowing in anger. "You cannot control me! I am my own master! I will never let another being tell me what to do-I WILL NOT BE EBTRAYED AGAIN!" Tears welled up in her brilliant violet eyes, spilling down her cheeks. The miniature tornado spun without hindrance, picking up speed. "Never again will I trust! No one will tell me what to do, without suffering at my hand!"  
  
Shanta had to leap to the side to avoid decapitation by a book. The wind tugged at the hem of her clothes, slowly jerking her in the direction of the tornado. She realized her feet were sliding, and she reached out and grabbed the bookcase behind her. What was this woman's problem?! She watched in horror as clouds-real clouds-covered the ceiling of the room, great clouds of black. Lightening sparked acrossed the room, and another bookcase erupted in flames. Kurama struggled to keep his balance, for he was much closer to the source of the gale. But he was sliding towards her at an alarming rate, it was all he could do to stay upright. "Jessica would kill me if I let Kurama die," She told herself through gritted teeth, and released her hold on the shelf. Praying she wouldn't fall victim to the tornado, she ran to Kurama's side. He gave her a reproachful look, but silenced himself as she grabbed his arm, "Come on!" She shouted over the roar of the wind, her short black hair blowing acrossed her face and in her eyes, "We don't have time!"  
  
Pushing with all their might against the wind, they struggled to get to the door. The walls began to crumble, enormous slabs of concrete flying to the tornado's funnel, adding to its force. Kurama lifted his hand to the nape of his neck, retrieving his rose. His cry of, "Rose whip!" Was drowned out by the wind. He pulled the whip behind his head, then jerking it infront of them with as much force as he could muster. Shanta watched as the thorn-covered whip wrapped around the door knob. She felt amazement well up within her at his accuracy. He bent over her, putting his mouth close to her ear, he bellowed, "Watch the thorns, you don't want to cut yourself!"  
  
"Whatever could be causing such a ruckus?" Botan wondered aloud as she thumbed through a stack of papers of Kurama's desk, her mouth in a frown as she, again, looked at the empty bedrolls. "Koenma will not be happy that those two girls wandered off. Or that Kurama is so behind in his work."  
  
"BOTAN!!!" Ayume, her face death pale, appeared in the doorway. Her clipboard was held to her chest by one arm, the other hanging limply at her side. She was panting, a sign that she had ran for her life to this room. "It-It's happened!"  
  
Botan blinked in perplexity, her shoulders lifting slightly. Then, the meaning to her fellow grim reaper's words dawned on her, and she let out a terrified scream.  
  
"Koenma says we must evacuate the building!" Ayume cried breathlessly. "Oh Botan, the girl has Kurama and her friend trapped in the library!"  
  
Botan swallowed and nodded as though in agreement. "Come on, we best get everyone out."  
  
Thank you for reading! Please review! And, if you happen to be one of my friends in this story, email me and tell me what you thought of it. -.- Yes, even you, Autumn. Hey, at least I let Hiei save you. Just tell me if you liked it!!! 


	8. Chapter eight

Hiei's eyes held no sign of fear. He leaned his slim shoulder on the wall, clasping his hands behind his back. Autumn stood, looking uncertain, at his side, her eyes wide. Koenma's television was filled with the images of the situation currently being played out in the library. She watched in horror as Shanta and Kurama struggled to pull themselves along the rose whip, desperately attempting to get to the door. The woman who was standing in the center tornado let her hands fall to her sides, laughter breaking her lips. The very sound of it caused Autumn to shiver. Suddenly, the bookcases closest to the funnel shattered like glass, breaking into wooden slabs and began to spin around her. The walls continued to crumble, and the floor around her was gradually being eaten away. The two were unable to continue, and Kurama put his arms around Shanta, holing fast to the vine. He bent over her, blocking her body from the torrents of debris. It was all he could do to keep them from flying backward to their deaths.  
  
Koenma shook his head, his eyes closing. Screams could be heard outside of his office, those of the employees as the siren went off, signaling evacuation. "This is hopeless!"  
  
Kurama's shoulders began to shake. His arms, as Autumn noticed, were weakening, and he couldn't possibly hold on much longer. Then, another thing became apparent: the whip was starting to unfasten from around the door knob. It slowly unwrapped itself, and Autumn let out a scream as it released its hold completely. She found herself right up infront of Koenma's television, her eyes filling with unshed tears. Kurama held Shanta close as the two flew backward, his back just barely skimming the floor. "No!" Autumn screamed, turning away from the screen, putting her hands over her eyes. "God, no!" She turned back again and hit the screen with the full force of her fist. The screen crackled and lines on interference buzzed acrossed it.  
  
"I. . . .I think it would be best if we left now. It's over. We've lost, and now the only thing left is to run." Koenma said softly, also turning his face from the screen.  
  
Hiei seemed to be beyond words. His lips parted slightly, his crimson eyes wide, a slight tremor passing his shoulders. Kurama was dead. His hands fell to his sides, and for a moment, he stood still, unable to breathe. But after a moment, his eyes narrowed in rage, his hands balling into fists. He turned on his heel abruptly, and with a light step, he ran from the room.  
  
Mrs. Christa Crossman let out a sigh, her eyes on the computer screen before her. She lifted her coffee cup to her lips, drinking deeply of the caffeine enriched drink. She had often wondered why she had let Jessica go to Japan alone, but it was far to late to stop her now. She would be home in two days anyway. And she had faithfully emailed and called everyday, so she must be fine. Yet, Mother's intuition would not let Jessica's mother go along with ease. Something was wrong with her only daughter. But Jessica had just called that morning, and said she'd be away from the hotel all day, and not to bother calling. Despite this, Christa had already called three times. No answer, but that was what Jessica told her to expect, right? So what was wrong? She had this deep, dark feeling inside her, almost like she felt she was loosing her baby girl. She let her face fall into her hands as she stifled a moan, her blonde hair falling from its ponytail. If only Jessica would answer her cell phone! But she specifically told her mother that that sort of long distance phone call wasn't worth it, and not to bother trying because she wouldn't answer.  
  
"Jessica, whats wrong. . . . ?"  
  
His speed was like that of sound. As Hiei bolted down the hall in the direction of the chaos, his hand strayed down to his side, his fingertips brushing his katana. He didn't care if she was human, if he spent eternity in jail. He would KILL her. He sped up, a sharp crack sounding in his ears as the sound of his feet hitting the tile floor broke the sound barrier on account of how fast he was moving. His fist closed around the sword's hilt as he ran, and, without slowing in the slightest, he unsheathed it. He jerked it over his shoulder, swinging it with all his strength, the door to the records library bursting into splinters. He had not faltered in his movement. He immediately felt the vacuum of the wind tug at him as he skidded to a halt just inside the room. "What the. . ." As it was, he never finished his sentence, for awe silenced him. It hadn't seemed this frightening on the TV.  
  
The room had turned into a full fledged storm. Storm clouds swirled just bellow the ceiling, the occasional bolt of lightning lit the "sky" and thunder rumbled. Every last book had been torn from the shelves, and spun around in the funnel of the tornado, the witch who killed Kurama and Shanta standing in its center. A crater had been made under the tornado, the wind having eaten away at the floor. The walls were gradually caving in.  
  
Apparently Hiei was a great deal faster than he thought, for he had made it to the room in under two seconds. He spotted Kurama and the girl, only three yards away from the gale. Kurama was desperately trying to slow them down, but his effort was futile. All he could do now was block Shanta's face from injury and pray.  
  
"Kurama!" Hiei cried out, starting after them before he realized it. But he found himself loosing control of his movements, his feet being pulled out from underneath him. He fell backward, his head cracking painfully down on the tile floor. His crimson eyes glistened, and slowly closed. He had been knocked unconscious.  
  
"JESSICA! JESSICA, PLEASE STOP!!!"  
  
Autumn's hands gripped the doorway with every ounce of strength she could muster. The wind pulled at her hair, forcing it from its elastic band. Her tight brown curls blew in her face, blacking her tearstained face from view. The force of the wind pulled at her clothes, as though convinced it could rip them to shreds.  
  
"JESSICA, DON'T YOU REALIZE YOU'RE GOING TO KILL THEM?!" She screamed in desperation, "STOP IT, NOW! PLEASE!" But she couldn't hold on any longer. The tornado pulled her from the door, and she uttered what she thought would be her last scream as she flew towards her demise, "PLEASE, JESSICA!!"  
  
Kurama's grip on Shanta loosened, his eyes sliding shut. She tumbled from his grasp. Hiei was being sucked in at an alarming rate, and soon found himself being lifted from the floor. His eyes opened for a minute, coming to fall on Kurama's limp body as he was pulled upward as well. Autumn fought hard, grabbing anything she could to stop herself, but she could find nothing that did not just get pulled up along with her.  
  
"PLEASE, JESSICA!"  
  
Aoitsuki's eyes dulled, her laughter dying in her throat. "Please, Jessica," She echoed softly. She turned her head to the source of the cry, Autumn. Her violet eyes flickered and her lips parted. Her head tilted to the side, the corners of her eyes giving a slight twitch. As though she was unsure about something. Confused. ". . . . Autumn. . ." She changed her gaze again, this time stopping on Shanta, ". . . .Shanta. . . . Hiei. . . . . .Kurama. . . . ." Her tone was dazed. Her eyes continued to flicker. She lifted her hands to her face, slowly shaking her head in bewilderment. "I can't let my friends die..." Then, she jerked her head up, her hands in fists again. "NO! They must die. No one will stop me from stopping this war. From righting the wrongs they've done! He's done to me! ME!" But then her eyes gave a spark, and she cried out in pain. She put her hands to her eyes, screaming in pain. The wind began to falter, it's speed lessening, its grip on the great slabs of concrete sliding away. Things began to spin on their own accord, spiraling away from the tornado, crashing into the walls, causing them to crumble, dust flying everywhere, filling the room. "NOOO!" She fell to her knees, her hands covering her ears, her eyes a frightening, blank white. Sections of the roof crashed to the floor, sending more dust and rocks spewing acrossed the room. Books flew away from the funnel, ripping to shreds in midair. Fires erupted everywhere, lightning bolts hitting anything that was left. Aoitsuki struggled to her feet again, screaming louder. The entire room was chaos, nothing going untouched. Everything was just destroying everything else...  
  
"Stop it! Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, STOP IT!" She shrieked. "SSSTTTOOOPPP IIITTT RRIIGGHHTT NNOOWWW!!!" She froze, a choking sound coming from within her mouth. Her white eyes slowly seemed to swirl with color, coming to turn a hazel color. Her mouth hung wide open as she fell forward, her eyes closing as she did so. As she hit what was left of the floor, everything fell with her. The books, the chunks of wall, the remains of the bookshelves...  
  
It was over. For now. 


	9. Chapter nine

Jessica awoke to the gentle hum of an air conditioner. The comfort of the bed seemed to dull the pulsing of her head, but not by much. The light, fluffy pillow was so soft on her pounding head, the bed seemed to be made of the same thing as the pillow, and eased her aching back. She lifted a hand to her forehead and let out a moan, unable to force her eyes open. Her lips were gently forced open and she felt a chalky capsule placed on the top of her tongue. She had difficulty swallowing it. She felt cold glass being placed against her mouth, and she gulped down the water that came from it. She then managed to crack her left eye open. All she could distinguish was a blur of red. She struggled against her blanket, a sudden feeling of fear welling up inside her.  
  
"No, no. Jessica, calm down. Shhh." She knew that voice. Who was it? She felt her hand being enclosed in warmth, and realized some one was holding her hand, stroking it with his fingers. "It's okay. We're all okay now." He crooned, his soft words causing her to stop and rest against the bed, letting him sooth her. "You're going to be fine, just fine. But you have to keep calm and rest."  
  
The corners of her mouth lifted in a smile of bliss, a sigh coming from deep within her chest. ". . . . Kurama? Wh-what the heck happened?" She asked quietly. She felt his grip on her hand tighten ever so slightly.  
  
"Mm-hmm. Now be silent, we don't want you over doing it. As to what happened, I don't really know. Apparently, you allowed Aoitsuki to possess you in order to save my life and that of your friend's. She took over your body, killed Shi, and nearly killed us as well." Jessica stiffened at this. "Shh. Calm down. It's okay, as I already said, we're all okay. A bit bruised, but not very badly. If you hadn't heard Autumn's plea and taken your body back, we would not be here right now. . . .For a while, we all thought you'd die. Your body was so broken from the ordeal, and your soul. . . I feared that it had been damaged. . . . . We expected to find Aoitsuki's soul, assuming that, in order to take control again, you had cast it away. We did not, which means it's still inside you. ." His tone changed to a soft, questioning voice. Fringed with worry. ". . . Do you. . . remember being possessed?"  
  
"...No. Well, I remember my thoughts...... All I could think about was how all those I loved were going to die... But I didn't know why I felt like that......... I didn't see anything. I couldn't feel or taste or hear...... It was like. . . . I was sitting in the back of her mind, and all I could see...er...... well, hear, was her thoughts and emotions.... And her past. . . ." She fell into a fit of coughing, her body jerking violently. Kurama's hand lifted from her hand and gripped her shoulder, and, rather awkwardly, pulled her to him, holding her until the fit resided, his strong arms encircling her shoulders. She felt his muscles under his shirt, the intense warmth. A blush creeped up her cheeks as she smiled into his shirt, trying to act as though she didn't notice he was hugging her. If only she could see! But it was like some sort of glue held her lids together. She felt him sit her back against her pillows, and heard him clear his throat nervously.  
  
"I'm. . . Sorry. I shouldn't have made you talk." He apologized. But Jessica was glad she had talked, for if she hadn't she couldn't have started coughing, and he wouldn't have held her like that. But then her thoughts turned to her mother, and she felt guilty. Her mother would not approve. "Here, I'll leave you now. You just get some sleep."  
  
She wondered if it would be wrong to beg him to stay with her. For as he stood, she felt another wave of terror course through her. As his light step took him out into the hallway, her breaths came out as sobs, and she began to cry. If that woman's soul was still inside her, she could come back and take over...  
  
Jessica struggled to keep on her feet, her eyes on her bare feet. She put a hand to the wall in order to have its aid in balancing. The hospital room was silent, for no one but herself was in it at the moment. She had to know where she was, and how her friends were doing. She felt bad that she was disobeying Kurama, but she had to know. She flushed as she realized she was wearing a hospital gown, and that it was rather short. It was made of thick, blue cloth, and fell to about six inches above her knees. And she never wore anything that high up. It had to be to her knees. But even so, she had to get out of this room! She had been awake for hours, and still had no idea what was happening. For all she knew, Kurama had lied about Autumn and Shanta, so as not to upset her. Jessica took a tentative step, letting her hands fall away from the wall.  
  
She took another, and her knees gave way. She felt a dull pain in her kneecaps as they cracked down on the tile floor. "Ah!" Tears spilled down her cheeks, so many emotions swirling around in her head that she continued to scream, pain and hate and sorrow and panic and anger and fear and helplessness and every other feeling making her scream in confusion, suddenly feeling venerable. She covered her ears with her hands and screamed louder, letting it all out. "AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Her entire body shook so violently that she felt sick, and felt the taste of vomit singe her tongue. What was wrong with her?  
  
Autumn stared listlessly at the blank wall infront of her. She shifted her position in the hard plastic chair. She was sitting in the lobby of the hospital, one leg beneath her, the other slowly kicking back and forth infront of the chair. She detested waiting. She was fighting down the panic inside of her, she had no idea how Jessica was doing. Shanta was perfectly fine, with the exception of a cut on her shoulder. She lay on the chair beside Autumn, curled up with her head resting on the armrest and her feet curled up under her. Her shoulder had gauze taped to it, a slight stain of red on them. She was sleeping rather peacefully. It had been, after all, nearly ten hours since they had arrived here. "Eleven now," Autumn murmured moodily as her watch beeped for the new hour. "What the heck is with them? Did they forget about us?" She was referring to Kurama and Yuskue. Hiei had taken off as soon as Botan had awakened him, as they all lay in the ruins of the library. Kurama had been fine, despite the fact that he had gone through a great deal more. Shanta had managed to describe the situation to Autumn, for all she had seen was the ending.  
  
Autumn bristled as the faint sound of a scream echoed in the room. It took her a full minute to realize it was coming from Jessica, and in that minute, the scream never stopped. She gave Shanta a nudge, but stopped and decided it was best to leave her be. Autumn stood and, as unnoticeably as humanly possible, she made her way down the hall until she came to a stop before a room. Doctors and nurses gathered around it, all trying to get past and into the room. Jessica was still screaming. She managed to shove past several nurses and came face to face with her friend.  
  
Her face was death white, her eyes wider than they ever had been. One of the doctors was holding her down while a nurse drove a needle into her trembling arm. She was perfectly still, her yelling had stopped when Autumn had come in. Not sure what to do, Autumn shoved her hands in her pockets and discreetly leaned against the wall in the corner and waited for the staff to leave.  
  
When they had, she walked over to the bed where her friend was laying, her hands gripping the blanket to her chest with such vigor, her knuckles were turning a paper white. Tears slowly rolled down her ashen face. "Hey Jess," Autumn said softly.  
  
"I a-almost killed you." She sobbed, hiccups breaking her words. "An-nd I- I still-l m-m-might. B-becaus-se she-e-e's still ins-side of m-me."  
  
"Nah. Look at how you stopped her from doing it already?" Autumn was never one for comforting. She scuffed the tile nervously with her sneaker. ". . . Kurama was in here, wasn't he? What'd he say to you?"  
  
Jessica managed a shadow of a smile. "He, uh, h-hugged m-me. S-said tha-at y-you were all-l fine."  
  
Autumn raised her eyebrows. "He hugged you? Hmmm." She gave her friend an impish grin. Jessica frowned and shook her head in disagreement.  
  
"No. It wasn't like that. It was to keep me from hurting myself." She sat up, hugging her knees to her chest, resting her face of her knees. "I'm sorry I caused all that fuss a few moments ago. . . . I don't know what came over me. I just. . . I was just really afraid."  
  
"Hey, its okay. You did worry me, I thought you were in pain."  
  
"I was."  
  
"Where the heck am I?" Shanta blinked several times in a rapid succession, lifting a hand to her eyes and rubbing them. She was standing in Koenma's office. She opened her mouth to speak, but silenced herself, not really knowing why. Instead, she took a cautious step towards him, her hand outstretched. She reached up and touched Koenma's face. Her hand slid right through it. She frowned and heaved a sigh, "Another vision. . ."  
  
Koenma was seated in his throne, his eyes closed, his hands in his lap, placidly sucking his pacifier. He opened them as a second person in the room spoke, her toneless voice, with a tinge of a British accent, giving away her identity, despite the thick leather cloak she wore covered her face. "Master Koenma, we have advanced a full mile already this morning. A record, I would assume." She was referring to the war constantly being fought in the demon world; a fight for control.  
  
Shanta fought down the urge to scream at the sight of Aoitsuki. This was another one of her memories... The third, actually. The other two she had seen thus far were unimportant, just a few random conversations.  
  
"Hmmm," The prince crooned in agreement, "Your addition to my father's army was my best idea, no doubt."  
  
The girl stiffened at this. But she continued despite the comment. "Sir, I refuse to continue to aid you in this bloody war."  
  
Koenma sat up abruptly and, nearly choking on his binky, he screamed, "WHAT?!"  
  
"How dare we press our forces into land that does not belong to us? It never has, and never will. Why shed so much demon blood?" Her white teeth showed slightly as she bit her bottom lip and braced herself for his response.  
  
Koenma blinked, his perplexity obvious. He seemed beyond words, but at last he thought of something, and belted it out so fiercely, he sprayed her with spit. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! WE HAVE TO TAKE THAT LAND, IT'S OURS! AND IF THEY'D COOPERATE, NO BLOOD WOULD BE SPILLED! YOU WILL GO BACK TO THAT BATTLEFEILD, AND YOU'LL HELP US WIN THIS WAR!" He bellowed, jumping up and down in his anger.  
  
She lifted her hands to her face, tightening them into fists. She slammed them down on his desk, sending papers flying about the room. "Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do, Koenma?! I shall do as I please! And if it is my will to stop fighting this senseless war, stop fighting I shall! You think you rule over everyone, and they'll meekly obey you, but you're wrong! You rule over NOTHING!!! You fool!" She turned abruptly, and stormed from the room, papers still fluttering to the floor. The door swung shut on its own accord as she left. Shanta watched her go with a nasty glare on her face.  
  
Koenma sat back in his chair and heaved a sigh. Oger, who stood beside, him, peered over him anxiously, "Sir, are you okay?"  
  
"Yes, Oger," The prince of spirit world moaned, "I'm fine. But that girl! She harbors so much power, but she has such a rebellious spirit! You would have thought she'd have matured by now, being nineteen and all." He sighed again and slumped back in his chair. "What am I going to do? If my father finds out, he'll punish...ME! Theres no way we can continue this war without her! What could have caused this sudden change of heart?"  
  
"Yes," Shanta agreed, knowing well enough that she could not be seen or heard. "What was her deal?" Her light brown eyes glinted as she folded her arms acrossed her chest and thought out loud, "In all the other memories, she was fighting... And enjoying the heck out of it. She lived for the thrill of battle......So why suddenly hate it?"  
  
"SHANTA!"  
  
"Shanta," Autumn repeated, shaking her friend's shoulder. "Yo, wake up. Hello?!" Frustrated, she balled her hand into a fist, and gave Shanta a sharp whack on the head. "Earth to Kikiyo's child! HELLO?!" After a moment, she leaned over and bellowed in her ear, "Oh look, it's Sesshamaru!" Shanta sat up abruptly, her eyes scanning the room for the Anime character. She put a hand on the top of her head and winced, not sure why she had a head ache. "Come on, Shanta, Kurama says we can leave now."  
  
"Un?" Shanta grumbled as she followed her companion down the hall towards the main, double doors. "This day has been the freakiest ever. Remind me to kill Jessica for this. . . I'm hungry. . ." She shoved the glass door open, stepping out in the cold night air, breathing in sharply at the low temperature. She lifted her face at gaze at the sky, a smile coming to her eyes. Stars glowed gently in the dark sky, like miniature beacons meant to guide one to one's destination. Autumn followed suite, exhaling deeply, her breath freezing into a cloud above her face. It was so cold! And it was in the middle of the summer, too. And both of them were wearing Tshirts. After a moment, Kurama appeared and instructed them to find a silver convertible. He handed Autumn keys and told her to turn it on and warm it up for him. Beaming, she agreed and they walked out into the car lot, while Kurama went back into the hospital.  
  
They found the said car, and Autumn hopped into the front seat and put the key into the ignition, looking thoroughly pleased. The car really was nice, its silver paint unflawed, the black leather seats perfectly taken care of. Shanta got into the passenger seat, her hands immediately seeking the radio. Within moments, she had turned it on, but had not successfully found a station worth listening to. It was all in Japanese. She tilted her head to the side, her eyes travelling back to the hospital doors. She watched with dulled eyes as Kurama and Jessica (now dressed in jeans and a Tshirt) walked out, Kurama's eyes on Jessica, without her realizing it. She was to busy trying to stay standing. The redhead gave her a bit of a hand, gripping her shoulder and fairly steering her out to the car. Upon them reaching the car, Shanta pretended to be busy looking through a stack of CDs.  
  
"Here we go," Kurama murmured as he helped Jessica into the backseat, his mouth up in a smile as he helped her with the seatbelt, which, in the dark, she couldn't seem to buckle. He shot a glance at Autumn, who sighed and climbed over the seat into the back. Getting into the driver's seat, he said, "You're going to be staying at Yuskue's house for the next few days," before pulling out of the parking lot.  
  
Jessica lifted her arm and set it on the top of the door, resting her cheek on it. Her eyes closed halfway as she fought sleep, not wanting to miss any of the conversation. But her own thoughts distracted her. Could Aoitsuki take over again? If so, could she stop her again? Who was lying, Koenma, or Shi? Was Aoitsuki wrong in trying to stop the war in the demon world? Why did Aoitsuki kill Shi? Why did she get so upset when anyone told her what to do, or asked her to do something? What really happened in the records library? And why did she say that Kurama's feelings towards her were "affectionate" ones? Was she just messing with him, or...?  
  
"So you have a license?" Autumn was saying, her words causing Jessica to twitch and pay more attention. "That's cool. But I thought you were only fifteen?"  
  
Kurama did not answer at once. He watched as the car infront of him slowed to a stop, and he gently pressed his foot on the brake, his emerald eyes lifting to see a red light. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he answered, "I just turned sixteen about two months ago." He turned slightly in his seat to look at the two in the back, "We're going to have to get your things from the hotel, then maybe we can stop for something to eat, okay?"  
  
Autumn nodded readily, "Sure, sounds good ta me." Shanta echoed her response. Jessica smiled and made a soft sound of agreement. But her stomach contracted and she felt a sharp pain. They were soposed to be going home in two days... But Kurama had said, "the next few days," and this whole thing certainly wasn't over yet. So, that meant they were not going to get home on time...  
  
Okay, I'm ending the chapter here. It's getting to long! Please review! Thank you! 


	10. Chapter ten

Dark. Pitch black. Without illumination. Dark. Dark. Dark. Dark! Jessica lifted the blanket higher up on her face, so that only her hazel eyes could be seen, for the blanket was pulled over top of her head like a hood. Tears welled up in her eyes, and slowly rolled down her freckled cheeks.  
  
She was laying on a bedroll in Yuskue's living room, as was Autumn, one arm hanging out from under the blanket, her snores loud and peaceful. Shanta was wide awake on the couch, sitting Indian style, her arms folded. Her light brown eyes glinted slightly as she watched her unknowing friend cry. She did not enjoy watching her suffer like that, but did not choose to comfort her either. What would she say? 'Gee, Jessica, I know you're upset for almost killing us, and you're really scared over the whole possession thing, but you need to perk up!' AS IF! So she stayed silent and rigid, her eyes eventually wandering from her friend to the blank television. Her reflection, a mere glimmer of it, scowled back at her.  
  
Shanta did not want to sleep for fear that she would once more fall into one of the freak-psychic's memories. Or have another vision. She had realized that there was a difference in the two; the visions she had had all of them in it (Kurama, Autumn etc.), and were, or at least looked to be like, future happenings. But the old things, back one hundred or so years ago, were memories from Aoitsuki's very own mind. But the thing with the visions was that they did not all seem to come true.  
  
She put a hand to her neck, which had broken out in cold sweat. Back in Kurama's office the day before, she had fallen asleep, and had dreamed...No, foresaw, what was to happen in the records library. But the problem with it being a vision was the fact that in the 'dream' Kurama lost and Shi killed him. And Jessica chose to leave with Shi...  
  
Jessica pulled the pillow to her midsection and curled around it in effort of calming her raging stomach. She felt the taste of bile in her mouth and stood abruptly, and darted from the room with a hand covering her mouth. Shanta heard her vomiting in the bathroom.  
  
Below Koenma's eyes were purple smears, proof that he had not slept that night. His clothes were the same he wore yesterday, and it was obvious he had attempted to sleep in them, for the were uncharacteristically wrinkled. He heaved the ninetieth sigh of the day and slumped back in his chair. He did not bother yelling at Oger to shut up as the oni tried to cheer him up with some stupid a story about a dragon and some milk. Or maybe that wasn't even what he was talking about. Koenma was so dazed that he wasn't even sure. He was only partially aware that he had a headache, and that he was sitting on the remote which caused his butt to be sore. But he didn't honestly care. All he wanted was some...  
  
"QUIET!!!!"  
  
Oger cried out and fell over in surprise. He looked up to see his employer putting his hands over his head and start balling, his tears soaking the poor oni within seconds.  
  
"I just want to rest," Sobbed the distraught prince, "But I can rest until this ordeal with Aoitsuki is over, and that could take months! MONTHS, YOU HEAR ME? MONTHS!"  
  
"There is no need to shout, Koenma, none at all. Maybe if you weren't so stupid in the past, you wouldn't be in this mess."  
  
The prince of spirit world lifted his face to see Jessica standing infront of his desk. Her face was impassive, the only sign of emotion came from her tone. Cold as ice. Kurama stood at her side, looking just as worn and hassled as Koenma himself. They had left the apartment as soon as the other two (Shanta and Autumn) had fallen asleep.  
  
Jessica suddenly started shouting herself, her hands in fists at her side. They tightened, her nails biting into the flesh of her palms. She pulled herself to her full height. "You think I wouldn't find out?! You think I could be possessed by her and not see at least some of her memories?! I don't even have a bad enough word to call you without cussing, which is not something I'm going to do!" Thick streams of blood seeped from between her fingers as her fists tightened. "You're a monster! How did you justify doing it? HOW DID YOU JUSTIFY KILLING HIM IN COLD BLOOD!?" Her angry cry echoed, unanswered, in the cavernous room. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him to eye-level with her. "EARTH TO TODDLER-JERK! TELL ME!"  
  
Koenma remained calm, and his words showed it. "I was wondering when you were going to blow up in my face. Ever since Kurama sent word that you had awoken at the hospital, I've been expecting you to demand to come here and sort this all out." She could hear the gritting sound of his teeth being ground against each other. "It was all done a long time ago, before-"  
  
"Spare me your excuses!" She snapped, giving him a shove, releasing him. He sat back in his chair, still collected. "I would have come sooner, trust me, but I was having trouble sorting through it all. It's all hazy."  
  
"As I was saying-" He straightened his clothes as best as he could manage, "-this all happened a long time ago. Things were different. In the war, everything was black and white. Kill the demons, they were the enemy. It was the same in the ranks of our army- insubordination was punishable by death. Killing a demon would get you recognition. Black and white. Bad and good. Wrong and right. Evil and pure. Those who joined our cause were pure, and all those who resisted were evil. Understand?"  
  
"Kind of hard not to. I'm not as dense as you wish I was, toddler-jerk."  
  
"Yes, Aoitsuki didn't like the feel of blood on her hands. The greasy, sticky feeling between her fingers. But she adored the love and admiration she got for being such a good warrior, and she liked the feel of power as she soared up the ranks to general. So she compromised her morals. She justified herself with the belief that demons cared nothing, and were bad. She was a good guy. The good guys are always right. . . . .But she felt her confidence in that weak justification waver as she fell in love with a demon named Zurui. She had thought demons, even those in the army, to be dark and evil. But here was this fellow, so kind to her...She fell for him."  
  
"Yeah, this stuff I know. I want to know why you did what you did. She tried to come up with an answer, but I want to hear you side of the story. So cough it up!"  
  
". . .As their relationship progressed, so did her hate for the war. The blood shed. She was killing Zurui's kin! And. . . .Zurui was defying her. He was slowly leading her to believe that it was her own kind who were evil . . . .That humans needed to die. And she believed him." Koenma ceased his story-telling and heaved the ninety-first sigh of the day. It was disturbing to see that wrinkles adorned his face. The face of a toddler. "She finally confronted me with her new-found conviction. I'm afraid I reacted a bit harshly, and further angered her. So, she set off to the Nigenkai, killing humans and destroying homes and villages. Her anger intensified when I sent some of our military power to attempt to detain her. She and Zurui were getting out of hand! Not long after they had incinerated an entire continent, and then banished it to the bottom of the sea, we managed to capture Zurui, alone, and my forces sent word of it to me. . ." Koenma lifted a hand to his face to block the emotion that was starting to make him loose his cool. "I ordered him to be killed. I-I was afraid if I even tried to transport him to Demon Jail, Aoitsuki would just break him out. So, I assumed I had no choice. . .She literally went insane with rage. Armageddon-type chaos consumed the earth by her hand. She said I had no right, that it was just another demon's blood to me, and that I did not care. She vowed to break open the gates to the afterlife and unleash the vengeance of all those who died in the war on me. . . . .But at the same time all of this was happening, a demon god had approached my father's army. He said he did not want to fight, but to help. To aid in the war. Shi was an A class demon, the demon god of fear."  
  
Kurama's beautiful green eyes flashed at this. "So," He said, his voice husky, "That is how he defeated Yoko. He caused him to fear the death that was inevitable in that battle. That is why I changed back so quickly."  
  
"Yes. We immediately dispatched him to the Nigenkai to stop Aoitsuki in her senseless rampage. He used his powers against her, and succeeded in using one of his spells to slay her. Her soul was gone, and we had assumed that it had fallen from her body, and had dissipated away after a day. But it turns out this was not so. He had kept the soul. Some how having it so near began to affect him, and he began to see things in his sleep. Images of Aoitsuki in some of the more horrible of battles. Of how, even at your age, she easily slew demons without regret."  
  
"My age?"  
  
"At the age of ten, Aoitsuki showed immense promise in the area of psychic power. We recruited her as a small-time spirit detective. She blossomed under the teachings of several older psychics, and by the age of twelve, she was able to control her powers completely. We drafted her into the army. It seemed so right. . . . ."  
  
"At the time?"  
  
"Yes. At the time."  
  
Thick black rain clouds blocked the sun's rays, making nightfall come an hour early that night. Thunder rumbled distantly in the heavens, and lightening shot across the sky, lighting up the darkness for a few seconds before it faded away. Torrents of rain fell slanted and thick, making visibility impossible. A camp stretched out as far as the eye could see (which was not very far, but it went farther than you could see), rows upon rows of tents and stacks of military equipment. Here and there, a demon or psychic dared to stand out in the storm. A few fires, protected by tarps, brought a little light to the dreary night.  
  
Shanta looked about her with wide eyes. It was yet another of the psychic's memories, and this one seemed to be in the Makai. An army base of some sort. She spotted the woman she was scanning the tents for, and followed her, her sneakers making no sound, because she was not really there.  
  
Aoitsuki was one of the few people up and about so late at night, her cloak billowing against her in the strong wind. She hurried along the edges of tents, unknowing that a human girl was chasing her, panting with the effort. At last, she reached her destination, a small tent that was pitched a few yards away from the others.  
  
She lifted the cloth opening with her hand, her purple eyes peeking in. The illumination of a lamp cast shadows on the walls. A solitary form lay on the bed, wide awake, however, laying on his back with his head propped on his arms. His long, blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. His sparkling blue eyes lit up when he saw her blushing face, a smile teasing on his lips. He wore baggy pants made of red material, along with a long sleeved pale, white shirt, the sleeves wide with slits at the shoulders. His smile revealed a pair of long, dazzlingly- white fangs that rested on his bottom lip.  
  
He got up from his cot, wrapping his arms around Aoitsuki. He held her against him, burying his face in her fine black hair, murmuring words of love. A sob broke her lips, and she began to shake. "Oh Zurui! Koenma will not listen to reason! Both he and his father believe that this is a holy war, and we have every right to continue!"  
  
"Shh," He purred soothingly, "It's okay. If they will not listen, we shall show them what it feels like to loose so much, to have so much blood spilled."  
  
Shanta stood rather out of place in the room, her eyes burning a hole into Zurui's back. She didn't like him at all. Something about his tone, though gentle and warm, there was a certain cunning ring to his words. Zurui, she reminded herself, did mean 'sly.'  
  
"But. . . Zurui, how? We cannot hope to keep your secret much longer. I think King Yama already suspects it is you who sabotaged the last battle." She did not bother lifting her face from his shoulder.  
  
"Pah. What do I care if he knows its me?! Even if he kills me, I know you'll continue to try to stop this war, my love. No one can harm you! You are blessed with power unparalleled by any. So long as you still want this war to end. . . ." He let it drift off their, his words spoken with meaning.  
  
"I won't rest until it is! Even if-if I have to kill every single one of Yama's soldiers!"  
  
His smile curled even higher upward, and suddenly, it was not so loving. No, while her face was buried against his chest, he smirked down at her, his eyes glowing with a sinister light. ". . . That's my girl. . . ."  
  
Shanta was tempted to hit her and scream, "He's playing you--duh!" But what would that accomplish? Nothing. She jerked her head suddenly at a sound her brown eyes seeking the door of the tent.  
  
Outside the tent stood a demon. He tilted his head towards the voices in the tent, his long green hair falling in his face, shadowing his eyes. He gasped at their treasonous words, and rushed to the main tent, that of King Yama.  
  
Shanta crossed her arms acrossed her chest, and scowled at the two. So it was not Aoitsuki who wanted the war to end at all, it was Zurui. She had been tricked.  
  
Please review! If not, then I shall tell Hiei to unleash his Dragon of the Darkness Flame on you, and that won't be good...! Not like Hiei would actually listen to my request, let alone fulfil it......But...I can dream can't I? 


	11. Chapter eleven

Jessica seemed to be beyond human speech. Her hazel eyes glistened with fear and confusion, but the emotions seemed to be one and the same. Fear, she reasoned, is often caused by not understanding something; to have something baffle you. Humans tend to rely on their minds (unless they are dense) and when they find themselves unable to fathom something, their world crumbles. "Humans put far to much trust into their own mental capabilities. There are just some things we'll never understand."  
  
Koenma nodded thoughtfully and murmured, more to himself, "I think it would be best if you went back to earth now, with Kurama."  
  
Unable to answer verbally, she just nodded and turned to go. She froze as Kurama reached out and touched her arm, but she refrained from looking at him, or reacting at all. She just stood there, breathing. "Koenma-sama, what about the stone?" He asked sharply. Jessica was reminded of Yoko's tone of voice.  
  
Though Jessica could not see the prince as he answered, she suspected that Koenma had a deeply annoyed look on his face. "That will be all for today. Be sure you are not spotted on the way to Yuskue's."  
  
Shanta felt the weight of the world slowly breaking her, crushing her from the top down. She was prone to sudden migraines. Intense waves of pain flowing through her mind like acid, eating away at her very thoughts, incinerating them, burning them to cinders. The dreams weighed heavily along with the world, and she knew that they should not be kept secret. But who could she tell? Certainly not Autumn. Autumn had already voiced her opinion on that subject. She had told her she was a nutcase. Jessica might understand. Yes, Shanta reasoned, Jessica would understand and believe her, especially in light of recent events. But Jessica had been gone for hours. It seemed she had slipped away with Kurama after she had fallen asleep. Shanta had questioned Yuskue as to their missing tomodatchi, but he had merely said, "Aw, they'll be back soon." That had assured her that she had gone off with Kurama.  
  
"I never woulda thought it was possible," Autumn said with a grin, falling onto the couch beside her younger companion. The television was on some random channel, apparently news, but it was set on mute. Shanta sat cross- legged on the far end of the couch, her eyes of the pages of a thick novel. She looked rather sick, her face drawn up as though trying to fend off pain. Sweat trickled down the edge of her face. Autumn reached for the remote, which lay on the messy, cluttered coffee table, but stopped. "What are you reading?" She asked, her eyes intense on her friend's face.  
  
Shanta did not lift her gaze from the book, but muttered, "It was in Jessica's bag."  
  
"You stole one of her books, and you're reading it?" Autumn tilted her head to the side and settled herself more comfortably against the cushions. She had an odd expression, halfway between confusion and being impressed.  
  
"She's been gone for hours. Yuskue's not talking."  
  
"I know. But you didn't answer me; what are you reading?"  
  
Shanta heaved a sigh and snapped the book shut. She lifted a hand and tossed it across the room. It landed with a thud beside what was left of Yuskue's first tricycle, which his mother had never had the heart to get rid of. She may have not always been sober, but she dearly loved her son. "That's just it, I have no idea. Last night, Kurama handed it to her, asked her if she understood what it meant. But it's not in English, or Japanese. I don't get it."  
  
"Maybe it's in German." Autumn smiled as though she made a joke. "C'mon, why are you so bent on reading it? Probably just some stupid book."  
  
"Or it could be something about the stone. Or the whole deal with the freak show in the library."  
  
"Or it could be nothing."  
  
Shanta remained silent and snatched the remote from her friend with a malicious vigor. "Baka henjin." She insulted, her eyes now on the TV. She proceeded to surf the channels to find something worth watching, but found nothing. For once, she wished she could just go back to reading. She wanted to know what was in that book; what it contained and who wrote and why Kurama gave it to Jessica in the first place. But that just didn't seem possible. Shanta briefly pictured Jessica just a few hours before, pouring over the book, reading it with perfection. Why could she understand it? To Shanta, it was a bunch of meaningless gibberish signs.  
  
"Give me the remote," Autumn groaned, making a half-hearted attempt to retrieve the remote. But she didn't really care what they watched. It was just incredibly unsettling to watch the TV continually flicker and change to another channel. Stop for a moment, just long enough to register what was on, then change again. She knew Shanta was just doing it out of listless boredom, but did she really have to do it for so long? Why not just let her have the remote for a few minutes? Autumn was just as restless.  
  
"You can have the remote when I..." She drifted off into the obis, her words suddenly dropping off into a void. She suddenly sat up straighter, pulling one leg onto the couch and resting her arm on her uplifted knee. "Autumn? Do you remember of second night here, in Tokyo?" When her friend nodded in response, she continued softly, "That dream I had? 'Member? Do you remember what I said?"  
  
"That it was a vision." Autumn answered without much enthusiasm. Where was this girl going with this? "And I told you that you were nuts."  
  
Her eyes narrowed into thoughtful slits, her mouth drawing into a frown. "Did I talk in my sleep? I must have, or you wouldn't have woken up. So wud' I say?"  
  
"I dunno, something about Jessica being not real."  
  
"No, that's not what I said. Couldn'ta been. "  
  
"If you know what you said, why you askin' me?"  
  
"Because I want to be sure."  
  
"I heard you say, "No-not real-Jessica-tell 'em Autumn-" and a bunch of other stupid crud. What does this have to do with anything? So you had a dream about Jessica being an Anime character or something. Big deal. What da'ya want me ta do 'bout it?" She sounded annoyed. Shanta backed off, remaining silent lest she further anger Autumn. She needed Autumn to tell her exactly what she heard, and she would never do that if she was irritated. So she'd have to wait.  
  
Sorry for the shortness of the chapter! It would be longer, but I'm kinda at a loss. Writers block is evil!!! 


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